Text 10165, 230 rader
Skriven 2014-02-21 08:12:06 av Dave Drum (1:18/200.0)
Kommentar till en text av Nancy Backus
Ärende: Re: Houses
==================
Nancy Backus Said to Dave Drum about Re: Houses
NB> DD> My parents second house in Springfield was a big ol' four
NB> DD> square of 2 1/2 stories that was built in 1917. I know that
NB> DD> because when I was stripping the multiple layers of wallpaper
NB> DD> from the upstairs hallway I found where Albert Rechner and crew
NB> DD> had signed the plaster work on August 18, 1917.
NB> The house my parents bought here in Rochester was also a larger four
NB> square, theirs had a full attic atop the 2 stories... and theirs had
NB> 4 bedrooms upstairs with 2 baths... theirs had to be built around
NB> 1900, also, but I never really researched that.. it was in better
NB> shape than the one your parents bought, too. :)
That attic was what I called a 1/2 story. The floor was laid with rough
boards and there were dormers on each of the four sides. It could have
been finished - and probably the ol' man had thoughts in that direction.
But, there was no need, really. Thinking back the second floor had four
bedrooms also. My brother, Phil, and I shared one. Mom and Dad in the
master bedroom, my sister in her own bedroom and the smallest (converted
from a large walk-in closet off the master bedroom was for my (then)
toddler kid brother. Only one bathroom. Although when we were re-
plumbing Dad and I installed a separate shower and lavatory in the
basement.
NB> DD> The house, which my dad bought for $10K had but a
NB> DD> single circuit of wiring for the whole house - with both legs
NB> DD> fused. The lights were originally gas - so, they ran the cloth
NB> DD> insulated wires through the old gas pipes for the room lights.
NB> DD> Wheeeeee. Turning on or off an individual wall light was an
NB> DD> adventure - never knew if you'd get tingled or not. One of the
NB> DD> first things me and the old man did was re-wire the whole place
NB> DD> with 200 Amp service.
NB> I remember you mentioning that before... :) Apparently the people
NB> that put in the electicity in my parents' house did a more adequate
NB> and safe job... or at least it had already been properly upgraded by
NB> the time my parents bought it in '65... Other than turning the
NB> attic into 3 more bedrooms for all the kids, Daddy didn't have to do
NB> much to the house. Later, when most of us were out on our own, we
NB> surprised them with a refurbishing of the kitchen... new roll
NB> flooring, paint job, new curtains... they were off on some trip...
NB> maybe for our church's General Assembly... Daddy had been talking
NB> about it for a number of years, and I think had gone so far as to
NB> have bought some of the materials needed...
As I said above - they never did finish that attic. But, my father's
hobby was remodeling and construction. He/we completely remodeled the
kitchen - with new and very adequate cabinets, new counters, sink(s), a
breakfast bar, a walk-in pantry and a re-located back door. Until the
day he died, no matter where they lived Pop always had some home-
improvement project or other going. But, that burst aorta got him at
fifty-four. Then the stroke got my mother three years later - one of the
(many) reasons that I am somewhat surprised that I have gotten as old as
I am ... and looking forward to many more years.
NB> DD> Anyway - a lot of work went into the place - and it was on an
NB> DD> arrangement such as you describe. A split lot of 35 feet in
NB> DD> width. Which, according to the zoning restrictions in place
NB> DD> could not have a replacement structure built in it should the
NB> DD> original burn to a crisp. We had a shared driveway also.
NB> At least my neighbor's and her neighbor's lots combined were more
NB> like two normal city lots, just with the houses quite close
NB> together... there was more space on the non-driveway sides of the
NB> two houses...
This was a pretty narrow driveway. And the guy to the north was a (not
so) secret drunk who would often leave his car in that tiny passageway
between the houses at three ayem. His (the drunk's) house had about four
feet of driveway to the south and three or so feet of side-yard to the
north. After all both places were built on a split 70 foot lot ...
giving 35 feet X full depth (I think 150 or 60 feet). We didn't have
much side yard either. But did have a sidewalk and the boulevard between
the few feet of yard and the street. The best part was that Mom was big
on decorative shrubs and plants - so there was not a lot to mow. Bv)=
NB> DD> But, Dad solved that by building a new garage that was
NB> DD> entered from the east-west street to the south of the property.
NB> DD> Being friends with the General Superintendent of the street
NB> DD> department who was also our precinct committeeman and the
NB> DD> Republican County Chairman didn't hurt with getting permits to
NB> DD> "break the curb" and run the driveway across the city-owned
NB> DD> boulevard strip between the sidewalk and the street. When the
NB> DD> folks moved to Bloomington they sold the place for upwards of
NB> DD> 90K (in 1971).
NB> That worked out fine, then... :) Both the "friends in high
NB> places", and the re-sale... :)
I saw that place advertised for sale at $140K last year. Dunno what the
final price turned out to be.
NB> NB>> The changing scene of business... :) So far Sears is still
NB> NB>> anchoring all the local malls, I think... their original
NB> NB>> location in the city has long been used for other things...
NB> NB>> although it was still Sears when I was in high school just
NB> NB>> down the road.. :) People still refer to it as the Sears
NB> NB>> building, of course... ;)
NB> DD> I used to shop at our local Sears when it was a stand-alone
NB> DD> (and near to my home) as it was easy to nip down the Sears,
NB> DD> park fairly near to the entrance I needed, get what I wanted
NB> DD> and go back to what I was doing. Now that they are in the maul,
NB> DD> parking is problematic, they're clear across town and traffic
NB> DD> is horrendous anywhere around the maul area. So, I go more to
NB> DD> their parent company (K-Mart) these days - for the same
NB> DD> reason(s) that I went to the stand-alone Sears.
NB> I rarely shop either anymore... We did check out appliances at one
NB> of the local Sears (one can usually park pretty close to that door,
NB> and not need to go thru the mall itself; a couple of the large malls
NB> are close enough not to be too much bother), but ended up buying
NB> from an appliance store in town when we needed a new refrigerator
NB> fast...
I can get Sears appliances at the local K-Mart. Kenmore (the Sears house
brand) was always dead-on reliable if not all that cutting edge
exciting. But, when buying durable goods like washers and dryers and ice
boxes and freezers or stoves - I druther have reliable and trouble free
than the latest whistles and bells that are prone to breakage.
NB> DD> Title: St. Steven's Fruitcake Cookies
NB> DD> From the newsletter of St Stephen's Anglican Church
NB> DD> A parish in the classical Anglican tradition
NB> DD> From: http://www.ststeve.com
NB> Those don't look half bad... looked like a proper ratio of fruits
NB> and nuts to filler... ;) and the liquid would give a proper tang
NB> to them... ;)
St. Steven's was also the name of the original congregation to which I
belonged - it was, technically, a mission and the priest came from
another parish to do the services and we met in an upstairs room. Bv)=
St. Steven's in Taylorville built their own stand-alone that looks as if
it might have been plucked from the English country-side. Of course this
area has lots of lime and sand stone availbale.
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
Title: St. Stephen's Day Pie
Categories: Pork, Poultry, Mushrooms, Vegetables, Dairy
Yield: 8 servings
2 lb Cold turkey meat
1 lb Cold ham or bacon
2 tb Butter
1 1/2 c Chopped onions
1 cl Garlic; minced
2 1/2 c Poultry stock
1 1/4 c Turkey gravy
8 oz Small button mushrooms
4 ts Chopped parsley
4 ts Chopped chives
2 ts Marjoram or tarragon
2/3 c Heavy cream
2 lb Duchesse Potato
MMMMM---------------------DUCHESSE POTATOES-------------------------
2 lb Unpeeled potatoes
1/2 pt Whole milk
2 lg Egg yolks
+=OR=+
1 Whole egg
+=AND=+
1 lg Egg yolk
2 tb (to 4 tb) butter
MAKE THE SPUDS: Drain and peel immediately by simply
pulling off the skins. Mash while hot (see next
paragraph).
While potatoes are being peeled, bring milk to a simmer.
Beat eggs into hot mashed potatoes and add enough hot milk
to mix to a light consistency, suitable for piping. Beat
in butter and season with salt and pepper.
NOTES AND TIPS: If potatoes are not peeled and mashed
while hot and if hot milk is not added immediately, the
Duchesse Potato will be lumpy and gluey.
If you only have eggs whites, this recipe will still work
well.
Scrub potatoes well and put in a saucepan of cold water.
Add a good pinch of salt and bring to a boil and cover.
When the potatoes are about 1/2 cooked (about 15 minutes),
strain off 2/3 of the water, replace lid and reduce heat
so potatoes gently steam
MAKE THE PIE: Cut the turkey and ham into approximate 1"
pieces. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, add the
chopped onions, cover and sweat for about 10 minutes until
they are soft, but not browned. Meanwhile, wash and slice
the mushrooms.
When onions are soft, stir in the garlic and remove to a
plate. Increase the heat and cook the sliced mushrooms.
Season with salt and pepper and add to the onion and
garlic.
Toss the cold turkey and ham in the hot saucepan, using a
little extra butter if necessary. Add the mushrooms and
onions. De-glaze the saucepan with the turkey stock. Add
the cream and chopped herbs and bring to a boil. Add
gravy, meat, mushrooms and onions and simmer for 5
minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Pour filling into a pie plate and top with potatoes (for a
decorative effect, pipe the potatoes with a pastry bag).
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until potato is golden and the
pie is bubbling.
From: http://www.fabulousfoods.com
Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives
MMMMM
ENJOY!!!
From Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen
Home of YAAAAHHHHOOOOAAAAHHHH Hot Sauce & Hardin Cider
X CMPQwk 1.42 16554 X
... Virtue is its own punishment - Aneurin Bevan
--- Maximus/2 3.01
* Origin: Get your COOKING fix here! - bbs.outpostbbs.net (1:18/200)
|