Nuts.
Friday 21 January 2011
The Issue with Jam
I know I wrote that my NewYears resolution was going to be to eat more Jam. So far, I have not made much progress with this. Every morning during exams I ended up eating a piece of bread with nutella, instead of Jam.
Nuts.
Nuts.
The preparation
Well, christmas was set, and I realized I had a lot to do in 4 days, as well as going to the airport to get my mummy. So first things first, I decided to reorganize the living room, I mean, dining room.
I started by moving the christmas tree and the table and went over the space about 10 times with the vacuum. A necessary act as the christmas tree that I got for a "good price" had dried out almost completely by that time and everytime it was touched (or moved for that matter) a branch worth of needles would fall on the floor.
Midway through it was quite a mess. Along with the laudry that was still drying above the radiator.
The more or less final product, however, one might notice that there are a few chairs missing. Thankfully we have an incredible chair supplier, that has a relatively endless store of old bar chairs in his basement. The only problem is they have to be cleaned before they can be considered proper enough for use. Which I ended up doing christmas eve day. ALL DAY. and it went something like the following.
This was prior to the shower being turned on. It had been dowsed with an cleansing product usually used on tiles, and in the kitchen. Extra super heavy duty grease fighting cleaner. And this is what ensued...
Isn't that a wonderful colour? This is about 15 years of cigarette smoke coupled with 3 years of basement dust and grime running off the chair. The rinse and repeat method was implemented three or four times for each chair, and every time the same colour came off, well not the last time.
We are now the proud posessors of 10 rustic solid wood chairs.
For the space we have we may be considered a little chair heavy, but it's always good to have seats. In more ways than ever, I find myself taking after my mother. She has a very large collection of chairs. SHE however also has a basement to store them in, when they are not needed. We, however, find ourselves with chairs in every corner !
I started by moving the christmas tree and the table and went over the space about 10 times with the vacuum. A necessary act as the christmas tree that I got for a "good price" had dried out almost completely by that time and everytime it was touched (or moved for that matter) a branch worth of needles would fall on the floor.
Midway through it was quite a mess. Along with the laudry that was still drying above the radiator.
The more or less final product, however, one might notice that there are a few chairs missing. Thankfully we have an incredible chair supplier, that has a relatively endless store of old bar chairs in his basement. The only problem is they have to be cleaned before they can be considered proper enough for use. Which I ended up doing christmas eve day. ALL DAY. and it went something like the following.
This was prior to the shower being turned on. It had been dowsed with an cleansing product usually used on tiles, and in the kitchen. Extra super heavy duty grease fighting cleaner. And this is what ensued...
Isn't that a wonderful colour? This is about 15 years of cigarette smoke coupled with 3 years of basement dust and grime running off the chair. The rinse and repeat method was implemented three or four times for each chair, and every time the same colour came off, well not the last time.
We are now the proud posessors of 10 rustic solid wood chairs.
For the space we have we may be considered a little chair heavy, but it's always good to have seats. In more ways than ever, I find myself taking after my mother. She has a very large collection of chairs. SHE however also has a basement to store them in, when they are not needed. We, however, find ourselves with chairs in every corner !
Thursday 20 January 2011
The Flight...
I realize I've made a few references to all our stairs. I figured it might help if I illustrated exactly what I was refering to. So looking down from our 6th floor landing looks like this.
From this point begins my day, or our day, or whose ever day it is. This image expanded, equates to...
I must say though, apparently there was at one time a plan to put in an elevator... but I just don't see where it would go! there's not alot of extra space in this stair well. It's pretty much a single file affair.
I should also clarify, that this is not meant as a complaint, it is by the grace of these stairs that I can eat ice cream, and wine and not gain much weight. Well it is this and the running I do in the metro, and I guess the fact that I walk everywhere. Funny not having a car is good on two fronts, great muscle toner and doesn't burn fossil fuel!
From this point begins my day, or our day, or whose ever day it is. This image expanded, equates to...
 | |
| 6xthis!!! |
I must say though, apparently there was at one time a plan to put in an elevator... but I just don't see where it would go! there's not alot of extra space in this stair well. It's pretty much a single file affair.
I should also clarify, that this is not meant as a complaint, it is by the grace of these stairs that I can eat ice cream, and wine and not gain much weight. Well it is this and the running I do in the metro, and I guess the fact that I walk everywhere. Funny not having a car is good on two fronts, great muscle toner and doesn't burn fossil fuel!
Sunday 16 January 2011
The Resolution
I mentionned that perhaps eating more Jam would be a good new years resolution... but I think I've got an even better one... Keeping up to date with my blog!
Oops!
There's still the story of my setting up for Christmas Dinner... just not enough hours in the day!
Oops!
There's still the story of my setting up for Christmas Dinner... just not enough hours in the day!
The cupboards
This has got to go quick quick... I'm currently procrastinating, which I've been doing all morning, and really needs to stop, but all of a sudden I've become quite agitated at how negligent I've been since september! (I'm also a little conscious of a difficulty of spelling in english... erg...) In any case, a long time ago I bought some lovely big glass jars on ebay, they arrived and I rearranged my kitchen cupboard. The following photos tell the story of that afternoon.
Although presented like that it doesn't sound that interesting, I had fun doing it, and documenting it.
It arrived one day... and so I carried it up my 6 flights...
They had come all the way from Nancy, in a superbly packed box, and they were...
Perfect... alas, one soldier was lost on the journey...
In any case, the 11 that remained were washed and dried, and thus the process began!
The organisation process and the purging of plastic...
And thus the final result, which is very similar to how it looks now, REALLY, even 3 months later! Although the bamboo shoots had to been thrown out along with the peanut butter... the best before date on the bamboo shoots was december 2009. (a good exemple of why you should be very consciouse when packing your kitchen cupboards in a move) The peanut butter didn't have any best before date on it, but it tasted kind of funny, and I couldn't remember buying it, so it went as well, which means there's a little more space... but not that much!
So welcome to the story of my kitchen cabinet. And now I must get back to my revision of constitutional law and the history of law in France since the Roman Empire... oh ya.. nothing much, just a few centuries!
GAH!
Although presented like that it doesn't sound that interesting, I had fun doing it, and documenting it.
It arrived one day... and so I carried it up my 6 flights...
They had come all the way from Nancy, in a superbly packed box, and they were...
Perfect... alas, one soldier was lost on the journey...
In any case, the 11 that remained were washed and dried, and thus the process began!
The cupboard prior to the overhaul was a mess of plastic containers and plastic wrapping, although there was already the beginnings of the collection of bonne maman jam jars, reappropriated for kidney beans and peppercorns. Hopefully this collection will be added to, however for the moment I think the capacity for jam has been exhausted! Perhaps that would be a good new years resolution, I'm still looking for a resolution that I can appreciate, keep and benefit from! More jam seems reasonable, no?
The organisation process and the purging of plastic...
And thus the final result, which is very similar to how it looks now, REALLY, even 3 months later! Although the bamboo shoots had to been thrown out along with the peanut butter... the best before date on the bamboo shoots was december 2009. (a good exemple of why you should be very consciouse when packing your kitchen cupboards in a move) The peanut butter didn't have any best before date on it, but it tasted kind of funny, and I couldn't remember buying it, so it went as well, which means there's a little more space... but not that much!
So welcome to the story of my kitchen cabinet. And now I must get back to my revision of constitutional law and the history of law in France since the Roman Empire... oh ya.. nothing much, just a few centuries!
GAH!
The Issue of Wine
So as many of you probably can attest to, I have a propensity for drinking wine out of mustard or nutella jars, or pottery barn kids glasses with spiders on them... This Christmas, I did christmas dinner in our little aparment for Mum Lyaz and I and Lyaz's family. All of which was decided 4 days before "the day".
Prior to this I had maintained that anything we did not NEED was too much, however, at this juncture it became clear that the 4 plates and 4 bowls in the cupboard paired with a rare collection of Toy Story 3 mustard jars were not going to cut it for a "Christmas spread" for 10 people.
So I went out with the newly imported set of wheels that mum had brought me and bought 12 large plates (they didn't have the same as my current plates and they only came in boxes of 6) 8 small plates (these at least matched the 4 small plates that were currently in my cupboard, 12 long drink glasses, for pop and water, and 12 wine glasses. All of which I carried home, and up the 6 flights of stairs to our little apartment.
Christmas dinner went fantastically (with much help from mum) and a good number of trips up and down the stairs!
After the clean up, half of the new dishes and glasses etc were put away in their boxes while the cupboard was reorganized to accomodate its new burden.
So starting 2011 with a new outlook I decided that I would USE the wine glasses that were taking up valuable cupboard space, however I was soon reminded of WHY I never drank out of wine glasses prior to this.
The following photos are a testament:
So, I find myself at 11 wine glasses and counting. I guess I'll have to pull out all the mustard jars that got put away or else eat more mustard so as to save the wine glasses for the grown ups!
I must add, that I'm sorry for not having added more prior to this... I have about 3 backissues from the fall, that just got forgotten about before making it to the inter-web... They'll come... just perhaps not in chronological order!
Prior to this I had maintained that anything we did not NEED was too much, however, at this juncture it became clear that the 4 plates and 4 bowls in the cupboard paired with a rare collection of Toy Story 3 mustard jars were not going to cut it for a "Christmas spread" for 10 people.
So I went out with the newly imported set of wheels that mum had brought me and bought 12 large plates (they didn't have the same as my current plates and they only came in boxes of 6) 8 small plates (these at least matched the 4 small plates that were currently in my cupboard, 12 long drink glasses, for pop and water, and 12 wine glasses. All of which I carried home, and up the 6 flights of stairs to our little apartment.
Christmas dinner went fantastically (with much help from mum) and a good number of trips up and down the stairs!
 | ||
| dinner |
 |
| the entrées |
 |
| my favourite (actual) nephew |
After the clean up, half of the new dishes and glasses etc were put away in their boxes while the cupboard was reorganized to accomodate its new burden.
So starting 2011 with a new outlook I decided that I would USE the wine glasses that were taking up valuable cupboard space, however I was soon reminded of WHY I never drank out of wine glasses prior to this.
The following photos are a testament:
 |
| my Toy Story mustard jar |
 | ||||
| the new wine glass from christmas |
 |
| what happens to my wine glasses |
So, I find myself at 11 wine glasses and counting. I guess I'll have to pull out all the mustard jars that got put away or else eat more mustard so as to save the wine glasses for the grown ups!
I must add, that I'm sorry for not having added more prior to this... I have about 3 backissues from the fall, that just got forgotten about before making it to the inter-web... They'll come... just perhaps not in chronological order!
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