We are going to have the floors redone in our house. The carpet is driving us mad with allergies. This sample board shows our choices in stain colors in this particular product — thin prefinished oak tongue & groove boards, 5/16″ thick so as to go down in place of carpet and be about the same thickness.
July 14
I like to drink tea at work. It makes me less jittery than coffee, and comes in a wider variety of flavors. Last week I ordered some new teas, both replacements for stuff I had run out of, and a new flavor; the order arrived today. I prefer green & oolong teas in the summertime. The tea pictured here is called “gunpowder” for its appearance — it is a green tea, the individual leaves tightly rolled for better shelf life. It unfurls when you steep it.
July 13
One of the goals of installing a range hood in the kitchen is so that I can stir fry again. I am happy to say that the new microwave/hood works fine for this.
July 12
We went out to dinner with Kat & Bob tonight on Moody St. The evening weather was so excellent that they called us up and suggested we find someplace outside to eat.
We found a perfectly reasonable sports bar with a decent menu and good beer.
July 11
We’ve been having a problem with fruit flies in our compost, because all we’ve been putting in there is food. Today I attached the bagger to the mower to get some grass clippings, and shredded up a newspaper to add some bulk.
It looks funny, but with luck will give us good compost.
July 10
I saw a black-crowned night heron on my ride along the Charles this morning.
July 9
We went out to dinner with Michael & Sabrina (in her new car — whee!) on Moody St. Afterwards we got ice cream and walked down to the river, just in time to catch the end of the sunset.
July 8
Today I took the big camera to work, with the hope of catching one of the tall ships on its way into the harbor. No such luck — either my timing or the weather prevented such a view — but I did get a shot of the blades of the Hull wind turbine. At about 7 miles distant, they’re barely visible over the trees here.
July 7
This past weekend Kris and I went on a tour of local ethnic markets in Waltham. Among the items I bought is this Korean “multi rice,” the package for which is almost entirely unreadable for me. I’m not even sure it’s all Korean! Anyway, you mix some of this with the rice in your rice cooker to give it more flavor, texture, and color. We had this with various veggies and leftover roast duck tonight. Yum!
July 6
We went to visit my parents in Nashua yesterday, and picked up an end table that they don’t have room for anymore. I remember this piece from my childhood (it was my grandmother’s), but I recall it being much bigger. It fits in quite well in our front room.