Mark – Page 21 – Marked Up

Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – XXXVIII

Croquembouche It’s not quite as ambitious as it may seem. I’ve made both cream puffs and eclairs without posting anything about it. I was inspired by the Jamie and Julia effort: Erin’s pate a choux was a great learning experience: But I like Helen’s recipe better because it includes the filling: The recipe doesn’t seemContinue reading “Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – XXXVIII”

R.I.P. Merlin

Poor Merlin has died. He was a very loving kitteh. Like all cats, he was very curious and poked his nose into everything. Unlike most cats, everything he found terrified him. It was both amusing and sad. We called him “Merp” for his meow. That’s not really what he said. He meowed in Russian: Меръ.Continue reading “R.I.P. Merlin”

Penultimate Remodeling Task

That’s not what I expected, but we interior design by whim – and you must admit that “whimsical” is an applicable, if not exclusive, adjective. To begin at the beginning, the laundry room is not accessible from inside – neither from upstairs nor downstairs. Going outside to do laundry is inconvenient. The “I’m not doingContinue reading “Penultimate Remodeling Task”

Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – XXXVII

Chocolate Baguette with Lemon “Why on Earth?” is a fair question. I’ve been experimenting with baguettes. Brian Lagerstrom is my inspiration for that: I’ve not had good luck. I don’t get much rise in the oven. I believe this is due to the last rise and slicing the top. I will probably never find outContinue reading “Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – XXXVII”

A Simple Internet Trick

I haven’t posted for a while and I’ve been meaning to dig this out, so two birds, one stone: The BEST internet trick for keeping your stove clean: It’s hard to believe, but the same trick works for anything!

Is He Still a “Local Artist”?

Now that we are (finally) moving in, art is being hung. That print is one of my favorites. The picture was taken by a friend. When I saw it on Facebook, I jokingly asked, “can I get an eight-foot wide print?” Turns out, the answer was “yes”. This is it in the Denver living roomContinue reading “Is He Still a “Local Artist”?”

Unexpectedly!

The cats are not allowed on the counters. They know this. So, they wait until we go to bed before traipsing about the countertops. I’m pretty sure they are not aware that they leave evidence. This is not without precedent. The problem – that being the paw prints on the countertop, not the cats onContinue reading “Unexpectedly!”

Annoying Computer Shtuff

Microsoft decided that I must upgrade to Windows 11. The joy overwhelms me.

Office Mural

I was a bit worried about my sizing skills (Lysenkoism is a lie – sizing is most definitely not in the Sizer blood), but while there are some uneven wall impressions showing through, I think it turned out just fine. We wanted to do something fun and in keeping with the “farm” theme we’re tryingContinue reading “Office Mural”

Backsplash

So close! The range hood is not vented, the above-the-sink light is not installed, and I want one strip of under-cabinet LED lights (behind me in this picture), but other than that, the kitchen is done! Update: In case you haven’t been following along, here’s a before picture of the same space, albeit from aContinue reading “Backsplash”