5 Minutes

Amazing what we can do with time- waste it, buy it, take it, spend it, bide it, kill it, lose it, save it. And time on its own is pretty busy as well- time flies, time waits (for no man), time is a river, time passes, time stands still.

Right now I have a lot of time. I'm on vacation. I don't have to be anywhere or do anything in particular on any kind of schedule. I have a list of tasks I want to accomplish, but no real deadline to accomplish them. At least no pressing deadline.

So, I find I waste a lot of time without a fixed deadline. However, sometimes, I just don't have time to waste! Here, then, a list of 10 tasks I usually put off that really would only take me 5 minutes to accomplish. Maybe you could take 5 minutes and do some of these as well. So, kill some time, waste your time, spend some time, take some time and pass the time looking over the list:

1. Write one thank you note.
2. Fold one load of laundry.
3. Water your plants.
4. Stand up and stretch.
5. Drink a glass of water. Skip the bottled stuff.
6. Write a shopping list.
7. Go through the 'medicine cabinet' and toss expired or unused prescriptions. Check here for help on how to dispose of old meds.
8. Brush the dog or cat. (Secondary benefit- relaxation!)
9. Take something out of the freezer for dinner.
10. Go find your kid, spouse, SO, best friend- hug that person and say, 'I love you!'

5 minutes. That's all it takes to make a big dent in your stress level by connecting with someone you love, nourishing those you love (even the plants!) and doing someone for yourself. Not to mention ticking one more 'to do' off your list!

5 minutes. What are you waiting for? Time's passing!

(Bonus- make your bed! 80% of 'cleaning' a bedroom is making the bed!)

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main Street Freeport, Maine 04032

Painting the window sills

They really needed attention!

Painting the windowsills does not rank up there with decoupage project but it needed to be done.

Windows taped, primer applied.

Because the sills were poly'd in a previous life, I had to sand first and then apply primer. In places where I didn't quite get the primer, I can see where it might peel up. I take a wait and see attitude on that. Really, no one is going to pick at the windowsills, right?

This really brightened up the room and my attitude. I've been wondering what to do with the windowsills since they were first damaged. I'm feeling much better about them now!

Nicely painted! Although it looks white in the photo, it's a nice creamy yellow.

BTW, here's the view out this window with all the snow we got yesterday! (It's hard to photograph through a screen.)

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main Street Freeport, Maine 04032

Decoupage du Jour

Finished up my decoupage projects yesterday. Had a little test run overnight to see how the surfaces held up to wet glassware left on the nightstands. The results are in!

The tests were on the decoupaged surfaces as follows:

1. Modge Podge only
2. Modge Podge with a coat of paste wax (car wax)
3. Modge Podge that had been wiped over with furniture polish

And here's what happened- white rings on #1 & #2, no marks at all when the surfaces were 'polished'.

(BTW- The best results are obtained when coasters are used. We have them on every nightstand. Hint, hint!)


This is my test board. There are about 5 thin coats of Modge Podge on the sheet of scrapbooking paper that I used. I sectioned the board in thirds, with the left side having the car wax, the right side being the furniture polish and the middle being just the Modge Podge.

Yesterday, around 3 PM I dipped the bottom of each glass in the bowl of water and set them, dripping wet, on each section. I took them off this morning and found white rings, which DO disappear, on sections 1 & 2. Because I'd rather not worry about it, I'm going to 'polish' the tops of the nightstands with Pledge as there were no rings on that section.

I painted the other 2 nightstands that go in the Winthrop Fogg and I like them so much better now, that I am not going to decoupage them, just put another coat on the top and pop them back in the room, newly painted.

Next up? Painting the window sills in the Bowdoin. The sills have gotten pretty beat up over the years and I can't keep up with refinishing them whenever it rains and the windows are left open or if something wet is left there overnight. I need to sand a little and then prime. So the actual color will go on tomorrow.

More pix as I go along.

Rock is working on the 3rd bathroom!

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main Street Freeport, Maine 04032

New shower hardware

The first full day of projects has come to a close and 2 showers are done. The Winthrop Fogg & the Parlor both have new single handle shower knobs. Part of the excitement in putting in the one in the Parlor Room was there were no shutoff valves for the hot & cold water. (There are now!)



Although this is not something you would think to do on any kind of regular basis, we are finding that some of the plumbing in the walls behind the showers is a bit rickety so it's good it is being replaced before it just let go on its own.

Late last year we also installed brand new showerheads, so the showers are looking pretty spiffy right now! What we're looking for is a better showering experience for you.



OK, sorry about the above picture...does Rock look like Jack Nicholson in The Shining or what? Well, if Jack had a propane torch instead of that ax. Anyway, that's one of the new tools he got for this project. It's not a 'good' project if you can't buy new tools!


This is why I do my own projects at the same time, in a completely different room. Oh, the mess!

White Cedar Inn Bed & Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

The Project List for January, 2011

Here's our January list of projects. Sometimes the projects run over into next year, so if any of this sounds familiar, now you know why!

1. Replace the 2-knob shower fixtures with single handles.
2. Decoupage the nightstands in the Winthrop Fogg & Bowdoin. (They're a little plain the way they are.)
   
3. Paint or refinish the window sills in the Bowdoin.
4. Revamp the Lillian to remove the twin bed and add a sitting area. (Not happening until March.)
5. Paint our space.
6. Remove carpets in our space.

There are a couple of other projects we're 'thinking' about. If we go with them, I'll let you know. Or, better yet, it can be a surprise next time you visit!

First project is underway:


Here is Rock in the first shower.
He is using his brand new Dremel bit to cut out where the new handle will go. Slow and steady, this will take a little while to get all the showers done.

More photos as work progresses.





















And I got started on my projects as well!

Here's the setup for the decoupaging project. The tools of the trade.


The first nightstand is waiting for the last coat of ModgePodge. After that comes a topcoat to prevent water damage. I have a test board that I'm trying different finishes on. Hopefully, I can go with something easy like Turtle Wax instead of having to poly the tops.


Tomorrow I will set up an 'assembly line' to do the other 3 that go in the Bowdoin. The 2 nightstands in the Winthrop Fogg I am going to paint before decoupaging. I've never been fond of the color so now is the time to dress them up!

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

Chocolate Pistachio Fudge-January Recipe of the Month

When the recipe starts with chocolate and pistachios, can you really go wrong? Not here you can't! My two favorite foods are on display this month.

Since we went to New Mexico a few years back, I have been hooked on these garlic & green chile pistachios. We bought every bag they had at a little shop on the square in Santa Fe. Once we got home I went online and I've been ordering them from Heart of the Desert ever since. This year I ordered 5 lbs just before Christmas. They're almost all gone.

When I commented on Facebook about buying pistachios as Christmas gifts this year, 'Peppy Pistachio' challenged me to come up with a recipe using the pistachios. So, here goes:

The basic fudge recipe is from Carnation. It's the recipe I use to make fudge because it's on the back of the can of evaporated milk so I never lose it. I would suggest getting pistachio meat if you're in a hurry. Shelling pistachios and ending up with enough to make anything is tricky. I eat most of them!

1 1/2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 tbsps butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c chopped pistachios (I'm using the garlic & green chile for the 'oomph'- these puppies will clear your sinuses right out!)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Assemble all of your ingredients first, poured out in the proper amounts, because this goes fast and you want to be ready.

Line an 8" square baking pan with foil (really, save yourself the grief of cleaning hardened fudge!)

In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, evap milk, butter & salt and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 4-5 minutes over medium heat. Stir constantly. You don't want it to burn and stick to the pan.

Remove pan from heat and immediately stir in choco chips, marshmallows, nuts & vanilla. Stir until marshmallows are completely melted, about 1 minute. (Good upper body workout, but won't do a thing for the calories in the fudge.)

Pour into lined pan, spread out to corners, place in fridge for about 2 hours to set. Lifting foil, remove fudge from pan and turn out onto cutting board. Makes about 36-48 pieces, cut small.

How to shell pistachios for use in recipes:

Using half a shell, insert it into the opening of a whole shell and twist. If you want all of the pistachios for yourself, pry them open with your teeth. No one will want to share. ;-)

A little reminisce- I first encountered pistachios (the red ones) in the Bronx 50 some odd years ago. (Eek, maybe I should erase that number!) They were imported from Turkey by a company called Zenobia. I used to sit on the edge of the curb and flick the shells into the street. It was a dead giveaway that I'd had them- 10 red fingers, red lips, big smile! I always thought it was such an exotic food. That and pomegranates, which we called Chinese apples. (Who knows why!)

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

The Year in Numbers- 2010

It's that time of year, when I sit down and come up with the oddly amusing 'tale of the tape'. The numbers game. How much of this and that.

Here's a link to last year's numbers (for those keeping track!). Some of the categories changed this year. I like to think up new things to count!

So, in no particular order...the year in numbers:

• Longest stay- 7 nights (a tie)
• Pounds of bacon cooked- 40 (BTW, this year -2011- we are going to have a 'Bacon Week' where we serve bacon in a variety of different ways for 7 days. Feb 11-17.)
• Pounds of coffee brewed- 50
• Oldest guest and youngest guest- 89 (again, she told us, we didn't ask!) and 3 months.
• Guests from farthest away- Australia
  
• Number of miles I walk to serve breakfast (full house)- 2.1 miles
• Number of new breakfast recipes- 3 (Tuscan scrambled eggs, Apple pie & eggnog french toast and blueberry & lemon french toast.
• Number of guests- 2295 (you were counted more than once if you stayed more than one night)
• Where in the world did you all come from?
  

1. US- 82%
2. Canada- 10%
3. Italy- 2%
4. Australia- 1%
5. Germany- 1%
6. UK- 1%

• Where in the US did you all come from?

1. MA- 17%
2. NY- 11%
3. CT- 8%
4. ME- 7% (highest ever)
5. PA- 7%
6. NH- 5%
7. IL- 4%
8. CA- 3%
9. NJ- 3%
10. VA- 3%
11. FL- 3%
12. GA- 3%

(Let me throw out a challenge here to those states we didn't even hear from at all last year- what are you waiting for ID, ND, SD, DE, MS, NE, OR, HI, MT, NV, WI & WY. This is your year!)

• Number of days in a row with guests in the house- 132. (Took me seriously last year, didn't you? Last year it was 79 and I challenged you to beat that.)
• Fewest guests in the house on any given day? 1. And this year as last, it is the SAME person! (He also has the distinction of being the last person we see before we close up for January and the first person we see when we open up again in February!)

Thanks everyone for continuing to come back every year so we HAVE numbers to play with! Looking forward to seeing you this year. This year's new breakfast experiment will be crepes. I even bought Rock a crepe pan.

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032