Uncategorized

In and Out of Hot Water

Fiascos, Home and Renovation, Uncategorized

As most friends here know, I have a couple of ongoing health management things. These few things require a tub and hot water.

On Sunday evening, I was taking a bath, and the water stopped. I thought, “Huh. Water main break or something.” It’s an old city, happens now and then. Our plumbing is only five years old and we have an on-demand hot water heater the same age, so I just sat there a minute … until J said, “There’s a bunch of water out here on the floor.”

That, of course, was the end of my bath. After drying off and collecting my wits, I took a look at the “closet full of a million pipes,” and found this, with hot water gushing out of it —

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The lead from the water heater had separated from the pipe that takes the hot water to the rest of the house. The clamp on the top broke. I actually thought, “thank the plumbing deities for that,” because it looked like an easy fix.

You may or may not know — I don’t do plumbing fixes. Won’t touch ’em. But. I do understand most plumbing things. To confirm my suspicions, I had J go down to the basement to turn the main waterline off-and-on while I checked the bazillion valves in the plumbing closet. Looked like I was right. It was already evening, so we decided on cold water sink baths in the morning, and I Scarlett O’Hara-ed it until the next day.

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During the critical stage — messy!

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Called my good friend and contractor (who also happens to be our next-door neighbor) Monday morning. He ran by the hardware store to buy a few things, and it was fixed by noon! Couldn’t have taken him more than five minutes. He only wanted the cost of the supplies, but of course I doubled it and made him take it. Because calling in a plumber for something so simple and stupid would’ve cost three or four times that much. Let alone, having it fixed in less than a day.

So, as I was thinking when I first saw it, if we were going to have a plumbing issue, I’m glad it was a simple one.

I was back in the bath by 12:30!

Oh, hi. It’s me, Phill.

Health, Personal, Travel, Uncategorized

Since I recently updated my ancient Facebook account (I only look at it once or twice a year — Marketplace.) At any rate, probably best not to post anything to me there. I’m on Instagram as well if you’d like.

Since we’ve already had a lot of folks joining us here that I haven’t spoken to in quite a while, I thought I’d do a little bit of a catch up. (Yeah, this is going to be a very long post. I’ll intersperse some photos.)

J and I now live in Westchester, in a charming downtown, short walking distance from the train station and less than an hour from midtown Manhattan. A few blocks from the Hudson River. We bought this 1100 ft.² 3/1 project-house cottage just about six years ago.

The original part of the house was built in the 1840s, it was extended in the 1880s, and I’ve been renovating since we moved in.

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(A fun photo in the cellar!)

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It is truly my avocation. When we bought it, the first thing I did was tear the front room of the house off and rebuild the original covered porch. Every board, rail, and post — hand cut, all wood, all me, no pre-fab whatsoever.

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The day we closed, and a few months later.

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There was a big initial construction push; but then … two bouts of cancer, several operations, and finally a quadruple 10-hour operation with four Columbia specialists last July. This sidelined reno for about three years. I have my challenges, but I am absolutely fine now. I am nearing a year in complete remission. I’m officially disabled with the tag, parking spot in front of the house, etc. But, you probably wouldn’t know it just to look at me. It’s a neuropathy and chronic fatigue situation, besides the fact that they removed a lot of my insides. (Seriously.)

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Renovations resumed just recently in full! While we were on vacation, we had our close friend, nextdoor neighbor, and contractor tear down the 1 inch thick plaster-and-lathe ceiling in the large kitchen to expose the huge 180-year-old beams. (This was something I was never going to do on my own. Too big, awful, and unpleasant.) I’m now in the process of doing all the finishing work and putting the kitchen back together the way we want it. Very cottage-core, or course. The work is challenging, very creative, very satisfying, and I’ve learned to pace myself. Updates will come on that soon. It’s looking gorgeous.

I am, as always, a Director of Music and Organist at a local church, which I love. I’ve been there six years as well. My friends there were an enormous help during my very serious health challenges. I also teach piano and other instruments privately, but I’m very selective about who I teach, and only have seven students over three days, 30 minutes each.

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I suppose if I haven’t spoken to you in quite a while, I’ve also developed quite a travel bug. I was in London a few months ago, we were in the Catskills a week ago, I’m in Orlando in a week and a half, and in July I’m visiting my mom for a week in Tampa.

While I’m in Tampa, our contractor is tearing out the fiberglass tub/shower situation and putting in a huge, deep, wide tub. Also tiled walls, and vintage shower fixtures. (The tub will be a big help for me. One of the things that helps me most is doing my PT exercises while in hot/warm water.)

Who knows what August will bring!? =)

Ewww … Eat it!

Cooking & Baking, Uncategorized

I remembered a “recipe” that I really liked from a very long time ago.

It’s from the early 1980s — a big decade for processed (and often strangely colored) food. It’s sort of a quick “Shepherd’s Pie,” but I hesitate to use that as a name — I don’t want to offend any shepherds.

In its entirety, the recipe calls for a can of Campbell’s condensed tomato soup mixed into cooked ground beef. A layer of instant mashed potatoes goes on top of that, and a sprinkle of paprika.

Well, I made it a few weeks ago. Predictably, I was not a fan.

You can’t go home again. Even for fake shepherds pie. Gross.

That said, let’s talk about it some decent tasting food. Here’s my recipe for Lemon Garlic Chicken and Cauliflower. I’ve made it several times — it’s a recipe that I made up, based on what was in the refrigerator at the time. It’s super easy and fast! This serves two people, and it’s very easily doubled for four.

Lemon Garlic Chicken and Cauliflower

  • 2 Large Chicken Breasts
  • 1/2 Head Cauliflower
  • Juice of 1/2 Lemon
  • 1/3 Cup Diced Red Onion
  • 2 Cloves Diced Garlic
  • 1/3 Cup Grated Parmesan
  • 1/3 Cup Chicken Broth
  • Olive Oil
  • Sea Salt & Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 Tbsp Thyme

Preheat oven to 425F, and heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil on high in a cast-iron (or other oven safe) pan. When the pan is hot, reduce the burner to medium. (Don’t burn your olive oil.)

While heating the pan, dice onion and garlic and separate/chop cauliflower. I cut my chicken breasts into strips, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.

Drop in a tablespoon or two of garlic/onion in the pan, add chicken breasts seasoned with sea salt and black pepper, and cook a few minutes until chicken is browned on one side (when the it easily lets go of the pan). Flip it over.

Immediately add the cauliflower and the remaining onion/garlic. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the chicken and cauliflower, sprinkle with thyme.

Turn off the burner, and transfer the whole lot to your 425F oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, deglaze pan with 1/3 (ish) cup of chicken broth, sprinkle Parmesan over top of all, and cover for five minutes.

Mmmmm!

The Bouncer

Arts and Crafts, Health, Musical Instruments, Musician, Personal, Uncategorized, Webloggy

Hi, Friends!

I am good! A large part of that is because I came up with some projects (even video piano lessons!) that can be done from my sick-person bed in my sick-person room. (Also, I’ve been through this before and I know what to expect. That makes a big difference.)

I am indeed, right smack in the middle of radiation. The only side-effect I’m having is the extreme fatigue. But. Mixed with no-joke pain meds, my cantankerous gastrointestinal system, a bit of spectrum disorder, and a dash of neuropathy … by late afternoon I’m literally bouncing off things like a plodding pinball. (Nothing serious, only door frames.) But, I have lots of projects that don’t require standing up!

  • I’m scoring two silent films for theater organ, to be played live in the Fall.
  • I continue to hang stuff and fuss with things in my new safe-room. I mean bedroom.
  • I’m starting to draw diagrams for the little pipe organ I want to build. I finally found an octave-and-a-half set of the type of pipes I was looking for.

Hope you’re well too!

Bonus points if you can identify the woman on the bottom left in the silver picture frame. Any guesses? I’ll just tell you — it’s Linda Lee Porter, Cole Porter’s wife. That’s a prop that sat on the piano from a show I did. Thanks, Bonnie! =)

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Working on my silent films! =)

Sandwiches in the Dungeon

Fiascos, Home and Renovation, Uncategorized

I have a thing about underground buildings and rooms.

Our (very) small backyard is on a hill, sloping down 30′ to the house. Something occurred to me today when I saw the below photo.

“Well, that looks like it could be in our backyard. It sure would be easy to pay someone to dig out the space. Then, I’d be very comfortable laying the masonry myself.”

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(Yes, this is exactly the type of thing I get myself into.)

These underground root cellars (and garages) built into hills are ubiquitous here in the Hudson Valley. No worries, though. I have forsworn longterm unnecessary house projects.

It seems like the sort of thing that could be done in less than a week, but we know how I am … it would take two years to decide, a year to plan, another year to actually start, and six months to finish.

I don’t need to pass into my retirement-age years with a half finished root cellar.