RoundAbout San Diego

We recently bought a new bed to replace the one that Charlie took when he moved in with Danielle. We decided on a queen size bed from IKEA and it is now ready for the arrival of Klaus next week. We have so much planned for him that I'm sure he will be collapsing into bed every night with a great sense of relief that the day is over.



Although it's a tight fit we have set up a chair for reading or just for throwing his clothes on at the end of the day.



We hope Klaus will be comfortable while he's staying, and working, with us.

We are exhausted after a busy day pulling down the ceiling. Alex actually pulled it all down but I did help in the clean up.

Here we have Alex hard at work and, through no fault of his own, exhibiting a huge fashion faux pas with his dark socks and sneakers because I hadn't done any laundry this past week. He's hugely embarrassed! Well, I think I'm more embarrassed than he is.



He did such a great job and after we (and I do mean 'we') cleaned up this is what we are left with - a completely empty room.



We are well on the way to our new bathroom.

I was so surprised to find my first rose of the season in the backyard. I never do anything to my feeble little bushes thinking that each year will be the last for them - but they continue to thrive, somewhat.



Looks lovely on the fireplace mantel

Came home to a great sight on Friday - the bathtub and toilet were in the back parking space.



The bathroom was looking pretty empty.



Unfortunately, what is a remodel without some rotted studs? And no, I'm not talking about Alex!

Janet and Klaus appear to have a resident opossum. Here he is stealing the seeds that Klaus had put out for the birds - in broad daylight no less. He is so brave.



This is our resident opossum from a few months ago. As with all other critters that find their way into our yard he was given the name of Fred and became an instant member of our family. Boo however, was not too keen on the addition to the family - wish I had a picture of the hackles on her back and the big bushy tail.

At the end of the day we had managed to remove most of the dry wall. Didn't run into any problems. The next day Alex removed one wall of tile but because the weather was so bad we couldn't dump it out back so that stopped any further work.

The cabinets were easy to remove but the mirror caused a slight delay in our progress. It took quite a bit of fiddling around but we managed to keep it in one piece - the question now is what do we do with it.



We can now see out to the hallway from the door of the bathroom. "Thank you very much" to Elvis who's keeping an eye on us. The toilet will be removed when all the walls are gone. Alex has already capped the pipes so no water can get through.



All in all it was not a bad start to our next home improvement project.

So the madness begins yet again. Yesterday we started tearing down the cabinets and walls in the master bathroom. Due to a busy month at work it took me a few weeks to actually pack up the old bathroom and half of our bedroom so the work can be done without distractions.

I wanted to show one or two photos to show how bad the bathroom was but one or two just wasn't enough do it justice. First we have our toilet, sitting all white and shiny in that sea of different shades of putrid green - lovely. Next we have the very large bath tub that was too big to actually take a bath in.



When previous owners installed the cabinets they cut the countertop too short and fixed it by inserting a small piece at the end - but it wasn't attached to anything and often moved out of place leaving a huge gap. And just below the countertop the top drawer would never close properly.



Part of this remodel plan is to install a pocket door between the kitchen and the master bedroom. In an earlier posting I talked about removing our old water heater and showed the gap it created (go to tankless water heater for the full story). Well this is the other side of the wall where the pocket door will go.

While browsing the web during lunch last week I came across another blog by a person with a strong interest in food. What caught my attention was her entry How to East a Pig's Head. Her pictures of the feast are awesome. The pig's head came atop a bed of white beans that I bet would be good dipping with the fat of the pig - all you would need is good chunk of crusty bread. I think you should read the blog to get the full description of their enjoyment.

I have never eaten a pig's head and after reading this I don't think I ever will. I don't like fatty meat and this seems to be one big blob of fat. Alex would probably eat some of it (especially the cheek part) but would not want a whole head served to him. I think his Dad, Klaus, might enjoy digging in for a taste or two as well.

Any thoughts on eating a pig's head? Anyone tried it? Look forward to your comments.

Yesterday Charlie moved into his own studio apartment. He's going to be living in a huge apartment complex, gated, tennis courts, massive swimming pool, jacuzzi, parking, etc., with his girlfriend Danielle. It's a couple of blocks from Mission Bay, walking distance to the beach and to his work. And what is Danielle like? I haven't actually met her yet and she's currently on vacation and won't be home until next weekend. Alex and I hope to have them over for dinner in the near future. Some photos of the apartment show how small the place is but they both have good ideas to maximize the space.

Here's Charlie opening up the box of pots and pans we picked up at IKEA. And the first, almost full, cupboard with the plates and, most important, the wine glasses.



While we were unpacking and making up the bed Charlie kept texting and sending photos of what we were doing to Danielle. The kitchen is tiny but plenty big enough for Charlie and Danielle to cook a healthy meal together.



They are going to save and buy a love seat for the sitting area and some bar stools so they can eat at the kitchen counter.

I've been meaning to tell you about a blog I recently found called Blue Kitchen. It's written by Terry B and is all about food. I really enjoy the way he writes and will be trying some of his recipes when Klaus and Janet come visit us in the next few months. He's located in Chicago and also writes about restaurants in the general area. By clicking on the archives link you can read all his previous posts plus click on the category of your choice for recipes.

I recommend this blog for an informative and fun read.

Falcon is not keen on the snow - this is one of his favorite spots. Falcon is getting old and has arthritis so Klaus and Janet do everything possible to keep him warm and comfortable and he is always covered with a blanket during the winter months



Have you ever seen a cuter dog?

After viewing the last post of the snow in England I thought you might like to see the snow that Janet and Klaus experienced in DC last week. These are photos taken in front of their condo in McLean Gardens.



I love the winter wonderland effect but I don't think Falcon is too happy with it.

My cousin, Sylvia, sent over a couple of photos of snow scenes taken from her home. Sylvia, and Harry her husband, live along the southern coast of England in Portsmouth.

Taken from an upstairs window, the first photo shows a nice sprinkling of snow. I'm not sure if the snowman has been drinking or needs a drink.



This is taken from their front door. Looks so pretty but so cold.



For some great photos of the snow from my home county of Gloucestershire go to BBC Gloucester. Photos 5, 7, 39, 47, show my local areas.

EDIT: Sylvia actually lives in Chandlers Ford, near Southampton.

I've just finished my first glass of wine of the year. I resolved not to drink alcohol for one month and I did it. I sipped it slowly and relished every drop - it took me 1 1/2 hours to drink one glass! I'm now going to have another one.