Today , after production we completed step one of the great kitchen project!
Step one isn’t in the kitchen, but in our mudroom and an unused loft area the boys used to play in when they were little.
In order to have the look of our new kitchen, Marty and I knew we had to declutter for this to happen.
I have a lot of kitchen stuff; that I use. Some of the things that I don’t use every day such as small appliances, serving platter and bowls and random pots and other items needed to find a new place to be stored. The basement is out because I want it handy enough to just grab and use. Once things go down into the dungeon, they never come out.
We decided the unused loft space would be perfect to create a new pantry. I’ve seen in lots of magazines kitchen that have a separate room for their pantry, much like a butlers pantry, but a room that is an extension off of the kitchen.
It was both some of Marty’s ideas and mine that came together how we wanted to create our pantry & mudroom.
The plan right now is to create the pantry to get the kitchen items out of the main kitchen. In the near future, the pantry will be painted the same new color of the kitchen and purchase similar lighting.
Marty set up the heavy duty wire kitchen shelving while I started thinking about what was going where. I had the whole pantry in my mind before we even started.
The pantry came out better than we imagined. It looks as if it’s always been there. It makes more sense of the space than just a cozy, cute vignette I created last year.
I am stoked that I have this space for all of my kitchen specialty items. We are getting close to completing another hurdle in the main kitchen.
We are hoping to have the kitchen completed by the end of next week. This is only day 5 of the project and we’ve been working while renovating.
Tomorrow is Friday, the kitchen project will have to go on hold until Sunday. We need to focus on making product for the spätzle business, do some banking and get ready for our farmers market on Saturday. We haven’t had a market since 12/18 and are looking forward to going back.
I am so happy I could share with you one little piece of our project. This is the one thing that is complete…step one. ✔️
I told you guys we were doing a kitchen project that as of today, has turned into a bigger renovation than I expected. I don’t know why I didn’t expect it because it’s always the way around here.
Since we started the kitchen project we had stuff from the kitchen in part of the dining room and a corner of the mudroom. Now, it’s grown, taking over the living room, the whole dining & mudroom.
Yes, that’s a purple light in the living room.
Projects always take longer and are more work…in other words we will be living in a total mess for a while. The payoff will be worth it though.
Yesterday, we started our first DIY project of 2022. We wanted to start our project back in early December, but the house was decorated for the holidays; we decided to wait until after the first of the year.
Before I tell you about the project we are tackling, let me tell you how any project goes in the Irion household…it messes up the entire house; we live in chaos leaving me stressed out.
Our kitchen is the room where the project is happening. This is serious business because I depend on my kitchen so much! We need to get the job done as fast as we can, but doing things the right way and not taking any shortcuts.
Dining room.
I just snapped these photos demonstrating exactly what I mean by chaos. There is shit everywhere! My dining room looks like a grocery store and our mudroom looks like a kitchen equipment shop.
Dining room.Loft in the mudroom.
A little while ago I started to empty out the pantry so it can be moved. Our pantry holds A-LOT of stuff…part of the chaos.
In the pantry, Sam has one non-gluten free shelf of snacks that we keep separate from everything else. I haven’t touched those yet.
The tools and equipment we need for the project are everywhere…part of the chaos.
The six burner stove is disconnected standing in the middle of the kitchen…part of the chaos.
Ok, I made my point. I am taking photos of the project day by day to share later on.
We are in full spätzle production again after the holidays with deliveries to make, so the work on the project comes after all that is done.
Once the first project is done another one connected to the first comes next. Then there is a third one. They have to go in order so this is going to take a while. It’s like the ankle bone is connected to the shin bone story.
I want to keep the project a mystery until part one is done. There should be a pretty big transformation so I want to do a big reveal. Yes, I watch too many renovation shows on tv, I know.
It’s almost 8pm and this is the first time I sat down today. I am beat and starving; I have no clue what to make to eat due to the chaotic mess and not having a stove or oven. We do still have a microwave and toaster oven thank goodness.
Have a great night guys I’ll catch up with you tomorrow. I need a shower and some food badly; probably some Ben Gay tomorrow. 😜
We had a great visit with my sister Jen, Sofia, and Julian, her children. As soon as I know we will be having guests; I start planning my menus right away. Jen and I discussed dinner options a month before they came. I asked what types of things the kids liked to eat and what they didn’t like. I chose a menu, and she said they would love it all. Yay!
Jen and I love to cook together, so it was even better when Sofia helped us in the kitchen one night. Jen’s kids like to cook; Sofia is 14 years old and already has excellent knife skills.
Chicken Franchaise.
We made Chicken Franchise for the first night’s dinner with homemade Fettuccini (gluten-free) Alfredo. I made the pasta the day before, so we only had to cook the chicken and make the alfredo sauce. The meal was delicious, and the kids loved it.
Terrible lighting affected the photo of the fettuccini alfredo; it looked so much better in person.
The fun part about cooking together is that we work side by side like we’ve been cooking together forever. We trade off tasks and pull off the meals with lots of laughs and chit-chat.
Chorizo.
Wednesday night, we made my dad’s recipe for Portuguese Shrimp with Chorizo and Yellow Rice. I have to admit the shrimp came out good. We also made Brazilian Cheese Bread. This may have been Sofia’s favorite dinner of all. She kept saying how it was the best garlic shrimp she ever had. Of course, this made me very happy, and Jen said she would be making this dish at home. The cheese bread was a big hit as well.
Portuguese Garlic Shrimp.Brazilian Cheese Bread.
The next night I made meatballs, but not with tomato sauce; they don’t like it; I made Swedish Meatballs. They requested spätzle, so this was the perfect meal to serve it with. This meal was another homerun.
Swedish Meatballs with our Spätzle.
New Year’s Eve would be our first authentic “holiday” dinner together. I wanted to make a traditional turkey dinner; nothing says “holiday” like turkey.
A winter holiday theme table.
I set a fancy table for our New Year’s Eve dinner. We used placemats instead of table cloths for the rest of the meals. I decorated the table with greens and candles; it looked beautiful.
Turkey! Forgot to take a pic of the sides!
I kept the turkey dinner simple and didn’t make as many side dishes; as usual, they weren’t necessary. I went with stuffing, candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce. The basics, but the basics are the best. Marty loves sweet potatoes and stuffing best, while I like turkey with mashed potatoes & gravy.
We only had dessert two nights; we ate late every night and played cards right after dinner, so it wasn’t missed that much. We made hot fudge sundaes one night, then the kids and I made Chocolate & Peanut Butter Lava Cakes on New Year’s Eve day.
Making lava cakes with Sofia & Julian.
I have a lot of experience cooking with kids. I taught a six-week after-school cooking program one year, and I had students helping to prepare food in my kitchen when I worked at the school district as their food service director and lunch lady.
First, I made us read the recipe all the way through. I can’t beat this into adults’ heads, so I always make sure to teach it to kids.
Before and after baking.
Next, we got out the ingredients and double-checked the recipe again. Then, we started baking. I divided the tasks; Sofia melted chocolate and butter in a double boiler while Julian buttered and dusted the ramekins with cocoa powder.
I had Sofia whisk eggs and sugar while I poured in the hot melted chocolate. Next, Sofia filled the ramekins halfway with the batter while Julian scooped peanut butter and carefully put the peanut butter right in the center of the ramekin. He was adorable doing this, and he did a great job. Sofia finished topping the ramekins with more batter, then we covered them and kept them cold until after dinner.
Checking for lava.
Later on, I popped the ramekins into the oven while they were watching a movie. I was praying the lava cakes would easily come out of the ramekins, and the peanut butter would ooze out when cut open. It did! Yahoo! I breathed a big sigh of relief. I never made lava cakes before and wasn’t sure if they would come out as expected.
Success!
Klaus and Otto were good boys during their visit. Julian and Marty took the dogs outside one night to play catch. Klaus didn’t forget that Julian was a new playmate and kept staring at him to play. I took them outside the next day and was pleased that Klaus and Otto played nice with him.
Playing “tire” with Klausie-boy.
My family stayed at an Airbnb up in Manchester, but we decided that they would camp out in our living room on New Year’s Eve. There are way too many stupid people who still drink and drive; I didn’t want them traveling back to Manchester.
Klaus wasn’t happy when I shooed him off the mattress to put on the fitted sheet at bedtime.
Kausie-boy thought it was the greatest thing in the world when we plopped a twin mattress in the center of the living room! He climbed on it right away and wasn’t planning on moving. LOL!
They left early New Year’s Day morning to head back to NJ. We had a great time even though there wasn’t any snow. We planned on snowshoeing and sledding, but of course, that didn’t happen. At least they got to go ice skating.
Jen and I wanted to start our own family traditions; this was an excellent place to start celebrating the New Year together.
Can you believe it? This year flew by in the blink of an eye! Yes, indeed this was another strange year for us all, but I have to say I am coming out of it very blessed.
Our wholesale business has flourished which we are beyond grateful. My blog is 11 months old, and I have written almost 300 blog posts. I’ve come a long way personally over the last year as well. I wrote about the ups and downs, having many more ups than downs which is very good.
My sons both advanced in their careers, Noah changed jobs for an exciting business opportunity, and Sam became an RN.
Marty and I finally went on a real vacation by ourselves, the first one in 26 years. This year has taught us to do the things we want to do and stop waiting. Waiting for what?
I am grateful for all of my family members, who I am getting to know better every day. I am fortunate that we found each other and have them in my life; we still have many years to make up for lost time. It’s exciting to watch my nieces and nephew grow up; I love being Aunt Julz!
Finally, this blog was the best thing I did all year. It helped me focus on my life’s journey and not only the destination. It made me think about the good things in my life and not concentrate on negative thoughts or things. It’s easy to get into one’s head, especially in these challenging times. It also made me look back on some wonderful childhood memories and try to let some of the awful ones fade away a little at a time.
Thanks, guys, for a great year; I truly appreciate all of your comments, support, and donations to keep my blog going.
I wish you all a very Happy New Year, a year of good health, and prosperity. Cheers to better days ahead and a fantastic year.
I made it once around the rink in excruciating pain. The bunions on both of my feet made my feet feel like Cinderella’s ugly step-sisters when they tried on the glass slipper.
Damn bunions
I tried a different kind and went up a size. I loosened the skates up as much as I could and gave it another shot. I got eight steps onto the ice; the pain stopped me right in my tracks. Shit, I knew as much as I wanted to skate I wouldn’t be able to. I hate being a party pooper.
So here I sit watching Jen and the kids skate bummed with myself and my feet. Dammit!
I just took the Christmas tree down now that my sister Jen and her kids got to see it yesterday. I usually take it down the day after Christmas but waited for them this year.
My sister is from northern NJ and got here in about three hours. She was smart and left early, missing all that dreaded NJ traffic.
After they arrived, we hung out for a bit then had a quick lunch. Then they left to head up to Manchester, where they are staying an Airbnb.
The kid’s favorite place in Vermont is the Northshire Bookstore since they both love to read. They were super excited when they opened their presents from us, gift cards to the bookstore.
They hit the bookstore before checking into their Airbnb, then settled in. I rested for a bit before they came back later for dinner. Yes, I have insomnia again; the Midnight Drops stopped working because my body got too used to them. I’ve tried some Melatonin which works but gives me bad dreams. I’ll probably be writing more about this in the future.
Jen and I love to cook together. We made chicken franchise with fettuccini alfredo, all of our favorites. It’s like we’ve been cooking together our whole lives; it feels longer than the 2 1/2 years that we have known each other. I hate using the words adopted and biological, but she is one of my biological sisters that found me through Ancestry.com. We became sisters the first time we met, and I feel so blessed to have her in my life.
After dinner, we played the card game Five Crowns. We started playing this game with our friend across the street, Martin. It’s a lot of fun and can be highly competitive. Jen and Marty compete so hard against each other it makes me laugh.
My brother Dan and I play games for fun; they play to win. Marty says, “Why wouldn’t you play to win? What’s the point.” Um, just because smarty pants! Five Crowns is a challenging game to describe, but it’s a blast to play once you figure it out.
Today I am going to meet them up in Manchester, and we are going ice skating. I used to love both roller and ice skating when I was younger. Hopefully, I won’t hurt myself and be so sore tomorrow I won’t be able to move. Lol. Marty isn’t coordinated and says one of us needs our legs so he won’t be skating with us. We are expecting a delivery from one of our supply company’s, and he needs to be home to accept the delivery. Work never really goes away during a holiday vacation week.
I just wanted to check in and say hello and let you know what I’ve been up to. My writing may be more sporadic than usual, but I plan on taking photos and writing every day, even if it’s a short post.
Have a great day, and keep your fingers crossed for me at the ice rink. ⛸
Another Christmas has come and gone, but this one was different for me. Before we had children, Christmas for Marty and me was stressful because of our mothers. Both would use guilt and manipulation tactics. Someone always got hurt, and we were stuck in the middle.
After we had our boys, it became “our” family’s holiday. It was important for our boys to put out cookies and milk for Santa and go to bed in their own home. They loved they were able to play with their gifts all day and not have to pack up and drive somewhere far.
We told our families they were all welcome to our home for Christmas, although we spent our Christmas’ as just the four of us.
We started our own traditions on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Our Christmas’ were a special time for us while the boys were growing up.
We kept many of our traditions until this year, such as opening our gifts on Christmas morning. Then we enjoyed German pancakes that Marty made every year. We ate our dinners early on Christmas Eve and Day; I never deviated from their bedtime schedules.
This year we changed things up. Sam works overnight shifts in the ER and sleeps during the day. We decided for Christmas Eve dinner, we would start at 7:30 pm, giving Sam a chance to wake up before having a holiday meal. We had a relaxing meal and didn’t finish until almost 9 pm.
After dinner, we opened our gifts. It was weird for me to put presents under the tree during the day even though the boy’s Santa days have been over for years.
Christmas morning was low-key. We slept in and just hung out all day. Sam had to work at 4 pm, so only Noah, Marty, and I had Christmas dinner later that evening.
This indeed was a grown-up Christmas for me, which was a welcome change. This is the way things are in our lives right now. Perhaps someday, more family members will be added to shake things up, but this is perfect in the meantime.
I always park in the less crowded sections of parking lots because I hate when people park too close to me. Also, I don’t particularly appreciate when they ram a shopping cart into my vehicle, which has happened a few times.
Now that I have a gorgeous new vehicle, I park way out in no man’s land. Far from the crowds and other cars, plus the walk will do me good. All the nicer vehicles are parked out in no man’s land as well. I am sure the owners feel like I do. Today, my new truck Skye was all alone.
Last week, I had to pick up a few last-minute items at the grocery store. I had a list with about 15 things on it. I remembered the list from home, which was a miracle in itself! The first store that I went to was packed. As I started to walk around, the store was out of half the items I needed to get; not wanted to get, required to get.
I had given up and left my grocery cart in the middle of an aisle and walked out. I would have to go to another store anyway; I was not going to go through two checkout lines.
The next store I went to was a madhouse. They have so much crap piled up in the entranceway it’s hard to get through. Then when you get through, someone stops right at the entranceway and starts deciding where to go first. This makes me crazy! I thought to myself, walk in and move the fuck out of the way.
I tried to keep my cool and not get irritated about how busy the store was. I did find everything on my list but was dumbfounded how the prices went up just in the last couple of weeks; significantly.
When I got to the checkout, I was exhausted after a day in the production kitchen and out making deliveries. I just wanted to pay and leave. I remembered my reusable bags which was the second miracle of the day. I loaded my groceries on the conveyor belt.
The cashier asked me if I wanted him to help me bag my groceries. I told him yes, please. After he stopped ringing out my items, he watched me bagging my own shit. I put a couple of my bags in front of him to help, and he still watched me bag everything myself. When he told me my total, which was about two hundred bucks, I asked him if he had applied his employee discount. He didn’t know what I meant and where I was going with this.
I told him that I expected his employee discount since he stood there and watched me do his job. I asked him if he needed a manager to apply the discount. He was so confused. I told him not to offer to help someone then just stand there watching with his arms crossed. I paid and told him to have a happy holiday and wake up already. A weak moment for me indeed.
I am not a “Karen” usually. I am not that guy (or gal). I’ve had to deal with my share of Karen’s throughout my retail management career. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. How many other people did he do the same thing to? How many older people? It was 5:30 pm and everyone in the store was shopping after work; not one of them looked like they wanted to be there like me. Everyone looked tired and frazzled. No wonder his line was so long. I guess the baggers went home at 5 pm. Granted, at least he was working and not sitting on his ass, but if you are paid to do a job, then do it right.
Today was a shopper’s dream. I needed a few perishable items for the week and sailed through the store. I went back to the first store I went to the other day, the one I left my cart in. The store where the bagging incident occurred has lost me as a customer because of one kid; for good. I’ve given this store so many chances over the years, now I am done. I’ll go without before going back.
People are at their wit’s end right now with everything going on in our world. They are struggling through their days, at least I am. All I want is someone to be helpful to customers and make their expensive shopping experience a little bit easier. That’s a simple request, just some customer service.
I haven’t written a piece about me bitching about something for months, but this put me over the edge. The funny thing was when I left the checkout area, a couple of customers behind me gave me the thumbs up and were smiling. Hopefully, he helped bag their shit for them.
Ok. Rant over. Sorry, but I needed to get it out. Have a great night, guys.
My Holiday Eggnog Cake I made yesterday came out pretty much as I wanted. It wasn’t dry either like most gluten-free cakes. Yay!
I just wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
Last Christmas, I wished for something no money could buy. I wished for something more. Something that was hidden down deep. I wished to inspire people. I wanted to teach people how to cook. I wanted someone to share my stories and life with.
My personal Facebook page was a good start, but not enough for the story telling of my journey. I knew I needed to start a blog, but I was afraid of failure. The unknown. Technology.
I got off to a slow start as it took a while to find my voice. Find what I wanted to write about. Find my authentic self. How to be honest.
With every blog post I write I hope to either do what I initially wanted to do; inspire or teach. I shared my ups and downs. My successes and failures. I tried to make my readers laugh out loud some days and feel like they aren’t alone on their own journeys.
These are some strange times, but I believe no matter how bad things seem, there are better days ahead.
I wish you all a peaceful holiday. If you don’t celebrate Christmas I hope you can feel the hope and love that is in the air. I read a book a couple of months about a little girl named Lulu who had a saying while her family was going through World War ll, “hope helps” Yes, Lulu it does.
Cheers! Thanks so much everyone for being what I wished for last Christmas. ❤️
