Nov
11
Framing and Foundation
Our friends at HGTVPro recently launched a fascinating photo gallery that details the steps required to dig the foundation and install framing for HGTV Green Home 2010. Take a few moments to click through the photos, then come back here to share your thoughts.
Thanks for the good wishes. Hopefully, we'll enjoy blue skies and calm seas throughout the cruise, with plenty of turkey and all the trimmings to add to the pleasure of onboard dining. Hmmm, I wonder, instead of the usual surf and turf, will I be able to order surf and turkey? On second thought, no need to be greedy, I'll save the lobster for another night!
Now, where's that waiter with my Bahama Mama?
Show Me, your trip sounds delicious. That's what I call a whole body experience. Will be thinking about you. Enjoy your Bahama Mama!
Good Morning Show Me: Thank you for coming to Coop's rescue from the curiously disappearing posts? Weird (maybe witchcraft)! However, we see yours loud and clear! I must say that I will think of you and Coop on your Caribbean Cruising, while I on the other hand will be up to my elbows in Thanksgiving Feast preparations!! While you are enjoying turkey and the trimmings asea, I will be knee deep in "Feeling Fat, Fuzzy, or Frazzled!" Oh the joys of holiday cheer! Which brings up my MGTOTD about the holidays…..
MGTOTD: The more, the merrier!! Don't kill yourself in the kitchen. Let family members and friends show off their culinary cunning by bringing what they do best to the big holiday dinner. Anyone allergic to the kitchen can bring drinks, store-bought appetizers or fresh flowers for decorations.
Further helpful tips to reduce stress:
Delegate: If Thanksgiving Dinner entails more than just your immediate family, delegate! Assign someone to bring roles and butter, and someone else to bring the mashed potatoes. The food might not turn out exactly how you like it, but overall it will be worth it to save a few hours of being in the kitchen.
Tips continued….
Make Ahead: If anything can be made early and stored in the refrigerator, go ahead and make it early. It is easier to split up the cooking between a few days rather than trying to do it all in one morning. Also, remember to defrost the turkey. You don't want to be stressed out the morning of because the most important part of the meal is going to be ready late.
Simplify: It's okay to pick up a pumpkin pie from Costco, or to use pre-made punch. Also, don't worry about appetizers—the guests will have enough to eat from the main dinner already. It's okay to just have one kind of fruit salad and only a couple of pies. There will be plenty to choose from anyway.
Keep the Kids Occupied: Whether renting a new movie or assigning one to peel the potatoes and another to set the table, keep the kids occupied. If they have something to do be doing, they will most likely stay out of your hair.
Tips continued…..
Most important one!
Don't Forget to Laugh: If you forget to let the roles rise, don't sweat it. If you burn the turkey, go out to dinner. Learn to laugh, and realize that everything going exactly to plan isn't the only way to have a good Thanksgiving Day. Plan the best you can beforehand, but then just go with the flow from there. Remember the reason for the holiday, and allow yourself the time to reflect and be grateful for what you have been blessed with.
"The funny thing about Thanksgiving, or any huge meal, is that you spend 12 hours shopping for it and then chopping and cooking and braising and blanching. Then it takes 20 minutes to eat it and everybody sort of sits around in a food coma, and then it takes four hours to clean it up!! " Quoting Ted Allen!
Could not resist posting this lovely quote:
"May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!"
The author is unknown…but, then again, you might recognize he or she??
Coop: Talking about the upcoming feast, I thought I might give out another family recipe that is sure to make a hit at anyone's Thanksgiving Day extravaganza:
Pumpkin Cream Pie!! (This will put a smile on every guest!)
Ingredients:
Filling:
1 8 oz package of cream cheese (softened)
1 jar of marshmallow cream
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 cups whipped topping (divided use)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Crust:
2 cups gingersnap cookies
1/4 cup melted butter
continuing….
Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1. Place the gingersnap cookies in food processor and blend until you have fine crumbs (or crush in a large Ziploc bag). Reserve 2 tablespoons of the crumbs for garnish. Add melted butter to remaining crumbs and press into a 9" pie pan.
2. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.
3. Using an electric mixer beat together the cream cheese and marshmallow cream until well combined; blend in pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Fold in HALF of the whipped topping.
4. Spread the pumpkin mixture into the cooled gingersnap crust.
5. Spread the remaining whipped topping over the top.
6. Sprinkle with the reserved gingersnap crumbs.
7. Refrigerate at least 1-2 hours before serving.
JUST AS EASY AS PIE!!!
Orange-CRANBERRY cookies recipe found earlier this year from W.W…..
If there's a cranberry bog nearby…this would be even better!
1/2 c. butter (room temp.)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c brown sugar On med. high for 2 -3 min.
1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla
Alternately beat in flour mixture with 1/2 c. milk until combined
Flour mixture:
1 1/2 c. flour 1/2 c. old fashion oats 1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 tsp. orange zest
Chill the mixture for 30 minutes.
Spoon onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10- 12 minutes
Topping (Optional) 1 1/4 c. powdered sugar 2 T. Cranberry juice
1/4 t. grated orange zest
Drizzle over cookies
Real cranberry juice…the topping will be white. Artificial c.juice…the topping will be pink.
With all the recipes being shared…and Thanksgiving around the corner….a home gym sounds Fantastic!
Sounds Delicious!!
I can't even get a regular dinner to stay of the thighs!!!
Trish: Thank you for the wonderful recipe!! Not only are there cranberry bogs located in Massachusetts, but there are lovely cranberry bogs all over in Oregon! Cranberry bog soil is unique in that it consists of alternating layers of sand, and Oregon has been blessed with those beautiful Sand Dunes!!!!
So, I do have a Cranberry Bog very close, and will be heading out to purchase my holiday quoto…and, will be using Oregon cranberries in this fabulous cookie recipe…thank you from one Bogging Blogger!!!
"Lead, a toxic chemical pose a vast range of dangers to children’s health. Pure lead is very toxic to people. Children of all races and ethnic origins are at risk of lead poisoning throughout the United States. In addition to renal disease, cardiovascular effects, and reproductive toxicity, lead may cause irreversible neurologic damage. Blood lead levels once considered safe are now considered hazardous, with no known threshold. Lead poisoning is a wholly preventable disease" (source/Yale) "I would be much less concerned with how much lead washes from a roof to a groundwater aquifer or a surface water body than with how much lead accumulates in the soil along the building drip line and at the base of the downspout. Lead has some unique properties. One of which is its “stickiness.” Lead washed from a roof system during low intensity rainfalls will most likely accumulate in the soils near the drip line and downspouts. Over time (what is the estimated life span of these roofs?) the lead concentration in these areas can easily build up to toxic levels.
Lead in outdoor soils has been proven to be a source of indoor lead dust.
Under the new EPA standards, lead is considered a hazard if there are greater than: 40 micrograms of lead in dust per square foot on floors; 250 micrograms of lead in dust per square foot on interior window sills and 400 parts per million (ppm) of lead in bare soil in children's play areas or 1200 ppm average for bare soil in the rest of the yard. These levels are applicable regardless of the source of the lead.
As to the hazards to installers, yes it poses a hazard. Consult the OSHA website for the latest regulatory requirements."( source- Mark/The It Group)
Hi Gail or Mary… When you have a moment, we would love to have some assistance on the "Lead-coated Copper Roof" over the porch and why this would be used on a Green Home and how would it effect the LEED Certification. Thank you !!! Love life by living green and having a dream.
Marie Miller, you are so right—especially during those big holiday gatherings, go with the flow!
It's no big disaster if the turkey gets overdone, or takes longer than planned to cook, holding up dinner. Remember, burning the turkey is nothing compared to burning your bridges, so NEVER, ever criticize the chef!
And all those recipes for orange-cranberry cookies and pumpkin cream pies…yum—I'm starving—is it Thanksgiving Dinner time yet??
Happy Bogging, or Blogging, or Stuffing, or Baking, or any and all sorts of that holiday partaking!
I see someone already answered the question about where the information about the leaded copper roof came from.
I did think that was curious–and disappointing that the look of the roof would trump the environmental health of the house. I'm happy to see that some of you are also concerned about this issue, and that there is in fact an alternative to lead.
I would really like to know more about this. Did the builder or architect just not think about this issue? Or was the information wrong? If there was indeed a plan for this, has it already been implemented or is it possible to get it changed so the house is really green?
MGTOTD: Ditching bottled water keeps Mother Earth and your wallet green!
One Brita pitcher filter can effectively replace as much as 300 standard 16.9-ounce bottles. So you can get great-tasting water without so much waste. Talk about refreshing.
The average Brita pitcher filters 240 gallons of water a year for about 19 cents a day.7 Put in perspective, to get the same amount of water from bottled water would require 1,818 16.9-ounce water bottles a year.8
For about $10 each, you can purchase a 16-ounce or 32-ounce Nalgene bottle, saving you hundreds of dollars a year on bottled water.
Hydration at its best — carry the water you need and reduce your impact on the environment — one Nalgene bottle can last for decades, making it easy to stop buying single-serve bottled water to fulfill your everyday hydration needs.
Great MGTOTD!!! Also, there is a new product similar to Brita called ZeroWater at Target, Walmart, Home Depot and Walgreens. It comes with an Electronic Water Tester to prove their are zero impurities in the water. The company also has a recycling program for the filters! It is important to ditch those bottled waters for the environment and for yourself, as many have bisphenol, a hormone producing chemical. Marie has given us great information once again. Love life by living green and having a dream!!
Thanks for your MGTOTD, Marie, about ditching those pesky plastic water bottles once and for all. On that note, a reminder to NEVER, ever drink your Bahama Mama'a out of one—it's not good for your health OR the alcohol!
Okay, okay, we're still here, but I'm going to round up Coop very soon and head off into the wild blue yonder (well, maybe just one or two more posts today for friends and fellow bloggers to ponder.)
Happy Thanksgiving with all of the trimmings!
With Show Me blogging about the Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to slip in a little sidebar about another upcoming holiday and one of my favorite places. Read on, 'cause it's well worth a visit: "Fantasy In Lights, the most spectacular holiday light and sound show in the South starts November 20! Nestled amidst the wooded landscape of Callaway Gardens, more than eight million twinkling lights celebrate the magnificent holiday season!" Of course, Callaway Gardens is in the scenic countryside around Pine Mountain, Georgia, an hour's drive south of Atlanta.
Maybe even Jack Thomasson will be there to witness this remarkable holiday scene, and perhaps check out Callaway Gardens as the perfect site for a potential future Dream/Green Home. (Say hi to all the wonderful folks who help make each visit so delightful.)
Smooth Sailing!
Show Me and your fellow traveler, Coop: Bon Voyage, and while on the high Caribbean seas hope you have smooth sailing Don't pine too much for the Pinehills, Enjoy whatever you dine on for the Thanksgiving feast but go easy on the trimmings. Hope you will be able to post for the two weeks you are on board. Pine Mountain, Georgia sounds gorgeous. Jack T would so clever to keep the pine motif going. I love the beauty of all those electric holiday lights, but wonder about the energy????
Renee I would hope that they recycle those filters. Since they give you a TDS (Total Disolved Solids) Meter with the filters, I am assuming the filters are Deionizing units. These units are made up of Cation Resin & Anion Resin. The resins are specially made plastic beads that are regenerated with acids & caustics. The resins can be regenerated thousands of times, so I hope they are not wasted.
I will keep an eye out for you and Show Me on the Sea!!! We watched the Oasis of the Sea float by the other day!! It amazed us and held our attention until it drifted out of our view! I wish you the best and that you enjoy every moment…including the Bahama Mamas.. (I will toast one up to you!) Safe, Serene Sailing!!!
Me, too!! A lot of companies jump on the "green" wagon, but seem to have a hard time following through with their original commitment! And, I hope that they do more … clean drinking water is needed in many of places, even though it is almost 2010.. may they do what is right with their gains! Ed, you amaze me with you knowledge!! Thank you for always giving us the "real" details!! Talk to you soon!! While we are waiting for more details on the basement, right? LOL
Dear Coop & Show-Me: As you sail those Wild Blue, or maybe Turqoise, yonders, we wish you the best of the Thanksgiving Holiday! Careful not to fill up on too much turkey, or you might just sleep through the whole celebratory atmosphere of the cruise & feast. You know how eating turkey releases serotonin in the brain!! Seriously, have a great trip!!
Ahhhhhhhh, I love how you speak of Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia!! You do remember Georgia is my birth state, and my cousin Ira is just waiting for the chance to put on a southern spread for all the blogging buddies!! So, it would truly be fantastic if HGTV would find it in there "pea-picking hearts" to build our next Dream Home in Pine Mountain!!!!
continuing……
Nothin' could be finer than to be in Pine Mountain and stayin' at the Mountain Creek Inn, in the mornin' with a breakfast for two looking forward to the "Fantasy In Lights!" The countryside glittering with more than 8 million twinkling lights and over a dozen glowing, larger-than-life scenes that surround you with festive color and music!
"Wishing is good time wasted,
Still it's a habit they say;
Wishing for sweets I've tasted,
That's all I do all day.
Maybe there's nothing in wishing,
But speaking of wishing I'll say":
Nothin' could be finer than to be in Pine Mountain!!!
"Dreaming was meant for nighttime,
I live in dreams all the day;
I know it's not the right time,
But still I dream away.
What could be sweeter than dreaming,
Just dreaming and drifting away…..
Nothin' could be finer than to be in Pine Mountain!!!
MGTOTD: HOLD THE SALT AND KETCHUP!!! When you get take-out, ask yourself if you really need all the extra condiments? The soy sauce, mustard, ketchup and other items that the clerk automatically throws in. Only take what you need, rather than taking all of it and then either stuffing it in a drawer, or throwing it out.
Lean means Green.
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Definitely a wine cellar and a tv room, but most of all another bedroom would be terrific, I have a huge family and 2 bedrooms are just not going to cut it.
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