Shade Garden

You know that phrase... "Bloom where you're planted" ...?  I've always told myself to bloom where ever I'm planted... it's something a nomad has to do.  Choose happiness.  Um.  Right?

Birmingham, thankfully, isn't too hard to bloom in.  For me, I've made some good friends, found some pretty places, and for Pete's sake, the shopping is more than decent (with a notable exception... no Trader Joe's).

I've been thinking about this because, turns out, I have had a problem with planting plants in the wrong places.  Not everything will thrive in just any spot, in any level of sunlight.  It might be impossible to bloom where planted.  Makes me wonder if I could be that way, too.  Would I become a miserable  (well, more than usual) person if I lived in some God-forsaken town like Battle Mountain, Nevada?  Well, it's likely.

(Side note:  I'm reading "The Geography of Bliss" by Eric Weiner.... it's his search for the happiest places in the world.  So very interesting.)

Anyhow, this poor, pathetic hydrangea has lived in a partly-sunny part area for the last two years.  I'm pretty sure I planted it in the previous location because I thought it looked nice.  I paid no regard to the sunlight needs of this sweet little piece of potential.  Unrealized potential.  Clearly.

Today I relocated her to a completely shaded area, a little corner outside the new deck.  I gave her some fertilizer, some amended soil and a big drink of water.  Tucker and I talked to her and told her we were sorry for blasting her with sun.  You can see she doesn't look so great.  The tag (still attached after 2 years) said she can get to be six feet wide, but she really hadn't grown at all during that time.


To keep Little Hydrangea company, I planted a huge fern and three little hosta.  We instructed them to thrive and promised to water them (see the hose contraption rigged up in the background?  It's set on timers and we'll use it until the plants are established and won't need extra water besides the rain.).

I know it doesn't look great now.  It would look so much better if there were nice black mulch and if I hadn't been too lazy to hunt down the nice camera instead of my cell phone.  Oh well, the point is made and history is preserved.  I'm hoping to look back at these in the spring and be amazed at how much has changed.

Good for Me and CB

A friend sent this to me today and I must repost, in the spirit of Dr Techno's Internet Video Rundown.  Calvin, almost two, gives it two thumbs up.  So do I.

Looking for A New Gray

Our roof leaked a few months ago.  Said leak is now repaired, and now it's time to paint over the damage.

Can you spot the spots?   

There are also streaks on the walls in the above photo, they just are hard to capture on camera.  They must be shy.

More spots above the foyer, next to the dining room  ::

I can't say I am sad that two rooms and ceilings need to be repainted now.  I am ready to move on from Sherwin Williams' Essential Gray.  I was very happy with it for the last 2+ years, but now it is striking me as a little too cold for my taste and space.  It fights with the warmer tones of the woods visible through the windows, as well as some of the other finishes throughout the house.  

I struggled with choosing colors, mostly because I am a recovering perfectionist and I agonized over picking just the right color.  Ridiculous.  

I made a checklist of the critieria that needed to be met ::

In case you can't read my handwriting through the distortion of water spots and general wear (I keep my notebook in the kitchen usually... it gets pretty beat up), here's what it says::

Paint

• neutral -- grey/greige
• cohesive with rest of house
• warmer than current paint
• DR [dining room] darker than LR [living room]
• possibly paint ceilings
• will hide handprints  --  not too light

Looking through a fan deck in the last few days, I landed on three strips that I liked, though I wasn't sure which shade to choose... the second color down or the third color down?  I was afraid that the second color down would be too washed out because the rooms-to-be-painted are flooded with sunlight most of the day.  The colors I liked (3rd color down on the strips)  ::

• Versitile Gray
• Anew Gray
• Requisite Gray

I also really liked a greenish yellow called Hearts of Palm and thought that might be cool on the ceiling.  The photo below shows the greenish strip, the three new greys to consider, as well as the strip where Essential Gray lives (third color down on the far right strip).

Can you see how Essential Grey looks hard and steely?  That might work in someone's very modern space, but like I said above, it seemed like it's time was over in our house.  Time to warm it up.

I picked up samples at SW (they are only $5 a pot... completely worth it, IMO, to avoid a huge painting mistake).  I painted swatches on two walls and was amazed at how different the colors looked based on the locations and lighting.  VersitileGray ended up looking quite beige on one of the walls, though it was fine in a darker spot... but ultimately it is too "meh" for my taste and space.  It is the top swatch in the photo below, next to the top cream/yellow swatch ::

I know, it is hard to tell in these photos, since I am not a photo and lighting expert.  In real life, Versitile Gray definitely comes off as beige, not a warm grey.  It might work for some people and certain spaces, just not for my light-flooded, vast expanses of drywall.

I liked the Requisite Gray, but just to make sure, I pulled out a can of Anew Gray that was stored in the garage (that's what my sewing room is painted).  I painted a patch of it on the walls (after the above photos were taken) and I've almost made my decision.... 

Pretty sure it's going to be Requisite Gray for the living room.  I've decided to keep the dining room Special Gray (both Dave and I just really, really like it), which looks pretty good next to the Requisite Gray.  But, the dining room ceiling will be painted in Hearts of Palm, which is a shade darker than the darkest of the yellow/cream swatches above.  [I didn't get a sample of it... I'm pretty darn confident that I love it.  I do know that the two shades lighter (again, seen above) come off as super light and creamy.  I want more of a green-yellow.]  As for the living room ceiling.... not sure yet.  It will indeed be something other than white.  Guess I better decide before morning when the painter shows up.

Oh and here's the "before" of the living room, in it's current state of Essential Gray, with a white ceiling ::

**** Update 4/24/2012  ****

Check out  the new green ceiling.


**** Update 10/1/2012****

I finally posted about how the Requisite Gray turned out.  Also, if you're here from a google image search, would you do me a favor and let me know who has linked to me here? I'd love to solve the mystery of where traffic to this page is coming from.  Leave a comment or drop me an email : tbremer33 at gmaildot com .

Dear Dr Techno: Fluoride

My brother Alex, a new blogger and a PhD candidate at Northwestern University, and I decided to put our heads together some sort of blog collaboration.  Thought it would be fun to find an intersection of his scientific interests, as well as my home-centric interests.  We had a few ideas, but nothing that seemed just the right fit.  Until last week.

It started when I was bouncing around the blogosphere, and ended up on a relatively well-known sorta-crunchy blog.  (I say sorta-crunchy with no condescension... one might call me sorta-crunchy as well.  I'll never forget when a new friend came to my house one morning and after seeing a few different things such as the natural peanut butter that we like, she said "Okay, so you like a lot of.... natural stuff."  Boy, she would not hang well with some of my Albany, NY, friends.)

So, this sorta-crunchy blog had a recipe for natural tooth paste.  I was intrigued.... it is fun to make products at home occasionally, so I read it.  I used to make a lot of my own cleaning products until my mother-in-law gave me an all-in-one jug of concentrated all-purpose natural cleaner several years ago.  That jug will probably  last until my kids are in high school.... so, like, a long time from now.  Aaaanyhow, I read through the MYO tooth paste post and one of the stated reasons for making the tooth paste was to avoid fluoride.  It seemed a smidge fear-based, like, oh if I use fluorinated tooth paste, really bad stuff might happen.

This caused me to send an email to my science-minded brother that simply said "hey, what are your thoughts on fluoride?"  Except that I misspelled it as "flouride."  Like some sort of mutant wheat product.  Heh.

His emailed response prompted me to call him to announce that our joint blog project had been born.  Welcome to the first installment of Dear Doctor Techno.  Be sure to stop by his blog, become a follower, and check out his Internet Video Rundowns.  He also writes about science and technology.

[Side note:  I decided not to include the link to the original blog post, because my point here is for information and research, not to publicly call someone out.  If you'd like to read the original post, email me and I will send the link.]


[Dear Dr Techno is a feature where we pose a question to my brother, Alex Thompson, a PhD candidate in Materials Science and Engineering and blogger at Dr Techno. Have a question for Dr Techno? Feel free to ask!  It's all in good fun.]

Dear Dr Techno,

What are your thoughts on flouride?

-Tara

Dear Tara,

You're wondering if fluoride in tooth paste is dangerous, based on the blog post link you sent me.  My dentist says my tooth enamel is really strong, probably because in modern society, we get a lot of fluoride. Both in out tap water and in toothpaste.

The main points of the post:

1. Fluoride is banned in many countries water, but not the US, 
2. Fluoride is highly corrosive and toxic, and 
3. Fluoride is highly reactive. Therefore, maybe we should limit our fluoride intake by making your own toothpaste.

I'll focus on fluoride in water since with toothpaste you spit the fluoride out at the end. And I'm not aware of a bunch of mouth cancers due to brushing teeth. So, I think the interesting question is about fluoride in water.

Firstly, let's look at the blogger's fluoride-is-banned-in-certain-countries claim.

It seems like a pretty interesting argument. But something about the claim seemed funny to me. So this is the first thing I searched for, and within moments, I found an article on Wikipedia for water fluoridation and countries add fluoride. France and Germany are listed on the MYO toothpaste post among the countries that ban fluoride in water, but both actually add fluoride to salt. Denmark's health board is in favor of adding fluoride to water, but the country hasn't implemented it. So, I'm not sure if they ban fluoride in their water, but they are definitely not against ingesting fluoride.

I want to emphasize how easy it was to show that the fluoride-is-banned-in-some-countries list rings hollow and is quite disingenuous. With a simple Google search, I was able to find independent information that shows some of those countries are in fact pro-fluoride.

Next, let's look at the arguments about fluoride being toxic, and reactive. 

A quick refresher in chemistry. Elements in the same column in the periodic table are have similar chemical properties. (For example, the precious metals silver and gold are in the same column.) It turns out that fluorine is chemically similar (corrosive, toxic, reactive) to chlorine, which is contained in table salt. And spoiler alert: don't stop eating salt. You will die.

Points 2 and 3 seem like there is a poor understanding of the relevant science, not unlike the recent apple juice-arsenic controversy. Or the fake controversy about dihydrogen monoxide (it is contained in cancer, it will kill you if you breathe it in, it is used in nuclear power plants-- it's just plain water).

So what should we think about the safety of fluoride in water?

Briefly looking at Wikipedia, it seems like fluoride is safe at low doses and there aren't any big cases of epidemics from over fluoridation (though there have been some localized cases). But over large areas and long times, it seems to not be detrimental.

So if you want to make your own toothpaste, do it to save money or as a teaching aid for you kids, but don't do it because of fear, uncertainty and doubt. Perhaps you are concerned about the fluoride's effects on the environment or you aren't sure if it is effective when drunk, do some independent research, but I don't think you have to worry about fluoride in your tap water hurting you. There are other things in society we know are big problems like obesity, diabetes, and sitting too much (perhaps watching internet videos).

It is true, you shouldn't have too much fluoride, but also, not too little. Moderation in everything. just like with water (it turns out water poisoning is a thing).

And your dentist called. He asked me to remind you to floss. And not just the week before you go see him. He knows.

Sincerely,

Dr Techno

Lamp Hat

My uncle is a talented wood-working hobbyist.  He made a purpleheart wood lamp for us after my son Calvin was born. It has been in Calvin's room, and I think of my aunt and uncle whenever I see it.  A few months ago, it was knocked off the desk and, as my uncle predicted should this sort of thing happen, the fall didn't phase the wood a bit.  Purpleheart wood is dense and practically indestructible.  The shade, though, was punctured.  It's hard to tell in this photo (hello, cell phone shot), but there is an ugly hole in the shade that completely distracts from the beauty of the lamp... the hole was where my eye went every time I turned the lamp on.

I found  a replacement shade while shopping  in Homewood with a friend.  I am decorating Calvin's room in sort of vintage + rustic + modern style (yo, isn't everyone decorating like that these days?).  The shade nods towards all three of those criteria.

It looks like it is covered in a wide-woven burlap.

Can I just say... homemade gifts are my most favorite gifts, ever.  The lamp will probably end up being an heirloom... it's with us for the long haul.

Maybe I Should Be Dutch

...except that I like being American.  Anyone see this article a few weeks ago?

I loved the whole article, but this quote sums it up for me:

“Perhaps [Dutch women] are happy because they don’t feel guilty for falling short of perfection. We are torn to shreds between the American and the Mediterranean models of womanhood. On one hand, we are boardroom feminists expecting equality of expectation and outcome. On the other, we are matriarchs, wanting to run model kitchens and walk through meadows with bands of children.”

Marching Band-o

Just can't help it.... marching band is so awesome to me.

This video that my brother Marc made gives me chills and tears and makes me want to go find some high school color guard to coach, just so I can be in that world again for a bit.

Anyhow, I signed up for Alumni Band today.... which means I will get to be in that world for a weekend soon.  Dave plans to participate and play his snare, though he is conditioning himself carefully, due to his drumming-related injuries.

This year should be pretty awesome....it's a big anniversary year for the Purdue All-American Marching Band.  Maybe band alum Neil Armstrong will be there!  My in-laws are coming with us, and my parents will meet us there.  So, there will be plenty of grandparent coverage for the kids.  I can't wait for my boys to be exposed to such hugeness.... that's something I remember vividly when I was a freshman in the band.  It was huge!  It was a privilege to be a cog in such an awesome machine.

A Fondant Darth Vader

My kid turned 6 on Labor Day.  In 2005, September 5 was also Labor Day.  People who are born on holidays are so lucky.  The whole world celebrates.  (Steve T. need not comment on that point.... Christmas babies may be the exceptions.)  My friend Jen was born on Valentine's Day and she has always felt her birthday was extra special because of all the chocolate and love.  Anyhow, our three-day weekends around Tucker's birthday are memorable every year.

This year we went up to Marriott Shoals in Florence, Alabama.  They have an awesome swimming area with a water slide, baby pool,and indoor pool.  The on-site restaurant, Swampers, makes me ridiculously happy.  If you go there, order the Monte Cristo sandwich with the sweet potato fries.  I ordered it both nights we had dinner there.  Delish.

We headed back home on the actual birthday, after three days of pre-birthday fun, like swimming, bowling, general merriment.  I didn't plan ahead much for Tucker's real birthday celebration, so we stopped at Joann Fabrics on the way home for me to peruse the cake decorating section.  Tucker had been talking about a "Star Warts" cake for months.  

Joann's didn't have any character cake toppers.  But they did have pre-colored, rolled out sheets of fondant.  A lightbulb went off in my head.  In an instant, I figured out how to do the the cake.  And then I thought, Did I really just come up with my Star Warts cake scheme?  On  my own?  I never have my own ideas... I copy everyone else's good ideas, so I was a bit giddy and full of myself for having an original idea.  (Well, perhaps other people online have had this idea too, it's just this time I didn't copy those people.)  

I picked up a sheet of white and a sheet of black fondant.  (First several photos taken with cell phone.  Planning fail.... good camera's battery was dead.)

As soon as we got home, Tucker and I made his traditional Wacky Cake and got it in the oven.  He was banished from the kitchen as I worked on the next step.

While the cake baked, I did a Google image search for "Darth Vader's Head" and scrolled through until I found a black and white rendering... I didn't want a photo or a life-like drawing.   I needed it to be graphic.  And, I have no idea if that is the right term.  I'll just show you what I found.... it was somebody's greeting card that I blew up to the size I wanted, printed out and cut out.

I used this image to create a copy with the rolled fondant.  I laid my paper template directly on the black icing, and cut out the head shape with an exacto knife.

Then, I cut out the white pieces, cutting directly through the paper template and the fondant at the same time . Sometimes it didn't go all the way through the fondant, but the marks were visible, so I cut again after removing the paper.  

I laid each white piece in place as I cut.... but I didn't afix it permanently.  I wanted to do that all at the same time when I was finished cutting.

Once finished cutting, I used a tiny paint brush and applied water to the backs of the white fondant pieces.  Then, following the original template (by now all sorts of cut up), I placed the white pieces on the black Darth Vader head.  

The fondant on the left, the template on the right ::

I was pleased with how it turned out.  I admit, looking at the photo now, my Darth looks a little "concerned" due to eyebrow placement.  But, whatever.  He still looks marginally evil and scary.  More important, he was recognizable.

Tucker was allowed back in the kitchen to ice the cake, though Darth was covered with a towel.   (I'm pretty sure its not kosher to call Darth Vader simply "Darth," right? Whatever, it sounds really funny to me.)  I followed America's Test Kitchen recipe for butter cream frosting.  Can I just say.... holy smokies?!  It might have been the best icing I have ever eaten.  And I might have eaten a lot of icing in my life time.  Let's just say cake for me is just an excuse to eat icing.  

The cake, pre-icing (and btw, I cut off part of the top.... it had too much of a crown and needed to be flatter... the white stuff on top of the cake is errant powdered-sugar)  ::

Not only did it taste good, but it spread perfectly.  There were no cake crumbs stuck in it.  It was just stiff enough.  

Tucker got kicked out again so I could attach Darth to the cake.   Here's where the good camera's battery was finished charging!   Oh yeah, I added edible star glitter and a number 6 (icing from a tube) on a piece of fondant cut into a circle.

And now... time to present it to the birthday boy!

I got two enthusiastic "Awesomes!" out  of him.  Oooooh, my heart.  

After singing happy birthday and making a wish, I asked T-man what he thought about cutting up Darth Vader.  He said "That's what he deserves for being mean to good guys!"  Funny, considering he has only seen Star Warts once about six months ago and has refused to watch it since then.

Oh, have I mentioned here on IDO that Tucker is a bit, um, directive?  Check out what he's doing in the next two shots  ::

Yep, he's telling me exactly what to do.  That's my kid.  That's what he does.

And yep, that might be my other kid sitting on the table with no pants on.  He does have undies on, though.  And I have washed the table cloth since then, in case you were wondering.

This is the exact piece Tucker wanted  ::

The rest of the crew approved, as well.

I am not sure what clicked while I made this cake, but something did click for me.  I caught myself smiling while I worked, especially while cutting out Darth Vader.  I guess I couldn't wait to show everyone.  It was turning out far better than other cakes I have made.... they always tasted good, but looked like a hot mess.  I kind of get why some people cook or bake... it can give a ton of pleasure to family and friends, so all the planning and work is worth it!  Maybe I am now inspired to be less utilitarian with some of my cooking.... maybe I can find it in myself to cook just for the pleasure of it, now and then.

Six years, my son!  I love you.  

Want to Get Happy?

My brother Alex has a blog... that makes 4 out of 5 siblings in my family of origin who are somehow strangely interested in the blogging thing.  Alex posted a video this week that makes me unbelievably happy every time I watch it.  Have I admitted yet here on IDO that I am a complete wannabe dancer?  I should totally be in this video.  Check his post out and say "Hey!" while you're there.

I Kissed Couponing Goodbye

So.... couponing.

I'm all done with it.  It was fun for awhile and I was an advocate for awhile, but I've changed my mind about it.

It was too stressful.   It took loads of time to hunt the coupons down, to print them off, and, most of all, to plan the shopping trip out.  When I was couponing weekly at Publix, it would take me about an hour to plan out a trip and I would go when Tucker was at preschool (to be slightly more focused on the job by only having one "helper").  An hour a week doesn't sound like much, but, that was just the planning, not the execution.  I went on Wednesdays because that is the day that Publix has their penny item. So, I would either have to plan the trip on Tuesday night after the kids were down (Southern Savers always posted the new ad on Tuesday nights), or I'd have to drop Tucker off at school, come home, plan it out, and then either let Calvin do his nap, or try to squeeze the shopping in before nap time.  I would have to be home by 1:00 to greet Tucker from preschool, so if you work it all out, it made for crap Wednesdays.  I could have gone on Mondays or Fridays, but I would have missed one of the biggest savings (the penny item) and risked the on-sale items being sold out because all the other local couponers shopped before me (closer to Wednesday when the ad came out).  Doesn't that all sound crazy?  I can't even re-read this paragraph fully because my mind turns to mush as I relive it.  I have post-traumatic couponing disorder.

For me, all that ca-raziness was a steep price to pay in the name of saving money.  When I did well at the store, I saved maybe 40%.  It was a decent amount, totaling up to $40 or $50 a week, but only on the really good weeks.  On regular weeks, I'd save $30-$35.

Last spring my Sunday newspaper subscription recently ran out and that's when I stopped regularly couponing.  I had a cheap deal for a Wednesday and Sunday subscription to the Birmingham News ($52 for the year), but even still that $52 is a "hidden" cost of couponing. Nothing is free, including the ink and paper to print out online coupons.

One morning since then, while drinking one of my thrice-weekly Starbucks (talk about frugal), I was thinking about the cost to coupon.  The irony slowly revealed itself ... I could save a good portion of potential-coupon-savings by changing my coffee habits.  Dang!  Sounds so stupid and obvious now that I am writing about it.  But, yes, coffee savings are about $150 in the last couple of months, thanks to this.  I love you, Ree.

I am not against couponing in general and have no problem with people who do it.  My sister regularly gets amazing deals, especially at CVS.  If I were to somehow get ahold of the Sunday coupon inserts in the future (hint, hint, Dad), I could see myself doing an occasional CVS run for household staples like toilet paper and razors.  But for now, with my given situation in life (a husband, two young kids, working on an international adoption, maintaining/improving my home, blogging, traveling, being a friend, etc.), I choose not to regularly coupon.

What I *do* do (doo-doo.... heh, reminds me of the "duty" episode of Friends where Chandler blows an interview by making a poo joke), is shop the weekly sale for snack items, cereal, etc. and then buy store-brand for necessities that are not on sale.  For example, in general, I will buy the fruit that is on sale that week, while foregoing the fruit that is full price.  That's not to say I will ever pass an avocado up, sale or not.  But, I still internally cringe when I have to buy deodorant for $4 a stick, when I could have gotten it for free. I have this internal dialogue that goes something like, "Ugh!  Don't buy it at full price, you could get this way cheaper!"  "Yes, you could have gotten it for "free" but at what cost!  Stop being a freak, freak."

When I buy the on-sale bread, frozen veggies, and other on-sale items, as well as inexpensive store-brand staples, I still end up saving $20-$25 a week.  Between that, not paying for a newspaper, and not buying coffee treats all the time, I figure I am kind of ahead of where I was a year ago.  Anyhow, I reserve the right to change my mind in the future, but this is where I am at for now.  Couponing is big in Birmingham, but I am finding more and more people here who are ex-couponers these days.  It is a matter of stewarding resources, to put it another way.


***Update***

So, I actually wrote the material above several weeks ago and am just now getting around to posting it.  Since then, I read a book about food called "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver.  In the book, Kingsolver documents a year where she and her family raised and ate their own food... virtually nothing was store-bought or non-local (exceptions were made for coffee and spices).  I loved reading about the food, farming, and cooking journey (though the first few chapters were rough to get through... she basically rants against America, politicians, petroleum-addicts, and in general sounds accusatory during those chapters).   Kingsolver talks about many positive fruits (pun intended) of eating food grown/raised at home (or at least, nearby), and cost-savings was one of those fruits.  She saved thousands of dollars in that year (though that really wasn't the point for her).

What a great idea for the frugal-minded, yet coupon-avoidant... food grown in the back yard to save money.  I, for one, have gardened for the "fun" of it, not for the cost-savings. And, of course, my garden has been a near-complete failure the last two summers, but I count it towards experience.  Maybe next spring will be more profitable.  If I could get enough experience and confidence, maybe I would save some money with a garden.

And one last thought... sometimes getting something as cheaply as possible may not be the point... maybe quality matters.  Kingsolver railed about the strange things called tomatoes that show up at the grocery store and how they cannot possibly compare to home grown tomatoes, freshly picked and turned into a salad, or a sauce. She made the point that if you can't grow your own, maybe it's worth it to spend a little more to buy a locally grown 'mater, full of flavor.  Seriously, cheap isn't always the highest value.  Is cheap the highest value when considering what car to buy? What clothes to purchase?  What hotel to book?