Powder room: the lighting

I know it was probably a very expensive fixture, but no-one has been able to secure it to the ceiling, and a half-attached, rusty chrome and lucite chandelier is not going to add anything to the vision I have for the powder room.


I made The Guy swap the light fixture from our dressing room for this one. And guess what was underneath the chandelier? Great swirling 60s disco balls, it's more of the silver metallic wallpaper I found when I painted the room. Oh my eyes. This must have been fantastically fabulous back in the day.


It took two of us to take down the light. Then we got out the scales. It weighed 9.5 lbs.


We carefully peeled off the wallpaper. I'm going to make a scrapbook of all the wonderful wallpapers and tiles that decorated the house in 1968. I wish I could have seen it then. I had a moment's regret that I'd taken down the light, and the wallpaper, then I got back with the programme: bringing the decor into the 21st century.


When we put up the Facet Clip by Ron Rezek for Artemide light the room instantly looked cleaner, sharper and much bigger. The Guy complained, of course, about another of my crazy ideas but I get the satisfaction at the end of the project, of hearing him say "You know, you were right, it looks fantastic".
Of course I was honey, of course it does.

Tuesday morning

So you give up?
The answers to last week's quiz are
The Pogues:
1) Rainy Night in Soho
2) Streams of Whiskey
3) Body of an American

Billy Bragg:
4) The Milkman of Human Kindness
5) A Lover Sings
6) Greetings To The New Brunette (Shirley)


Billy Bragg wanted a SHOUT OUT so here you go: An ace set, lots of old songs, some new tracks from his soon to be released album and a cowboy shirt from his trip to SXSW in Austin, Texas. What more could his public ask for? Although I'm thinking he may come to regret the shirt (another impulse purchase fueled by the half-off sale that is America for Europeans right now).


Then there was the main event, the reason we were all at the gig, to commemorate St Patrick's eve the proper way. Not with green beer, parades and maudlin songs about pipes and mountain sides but with the great London Irishman Shane MacGowan and The Pogues and have a rollicking good time. As did this guy doing the drunken Irish flaying-about dance with a pint of beer in each hand without spilling a drop. It's a gift to be celebrated.

24 carats too late

I just ordered the smokey grey veined tiles for the downstairs bath; special order so I have to use them. And now I see these 24-karat Gold & Platinum tiles from Design Tale Studio. If only I'd waited a day! And it would have gone beautifully with that gold and diamond Teknobili faucet I mentioned last month.
This is a limited edition of 150 and and according to the website it's priced at only 1,700 euros or $2,651 (the exchange rate is a killer right now). Do you think that's for a 12"x24" tile? I'm afraid to ask. Just imagine how impressed your guests will be when they see you used that one accent tile!
It's not happening in my little powder room, though. I prefer to wear my gold, not decorate my house with it.
via Trendir

Powder room tile choice

Saturday morning was spent running from one tile place to another to find the perfect floor for the powder room. First stop HD to look at the marble we could buff down and seal. It was Hopelessly Depressing. We did buy a $9 Carrara marble lintel but the only marble tiles they had left were Crema Beige, and these were chipped and horrible.
Then on to a "real" tile shop where 12"x12" honed Carrara was a staggering $12! Eeek. And the more I looked at it the more I thought it could turn into a bad 80s nightmare. So we chose six Porcelain tiles that would co-ordinate with the countertop to try at home. First contender was a light grey marble-like 13'x13" tile that unfortunately looked dirty in the powder room. Second a great stone-look cement-coloured tile but it was too modern for the space. Likewise two Urbatek tiles in grey-green and slate blue and a fifth that had sparkles in. Unfortunately that one did look like someone had missed the loo, so that left number six.


Kitten-approved final choice: grey porcelain tile with black and stone veins.


Oops. First casualty of the renovation - the brand new lintel. It didn't stand up to being trodden on.

We went out last night

And did we have fun? Just us and 3000 of our closest friends. We discovered some new (to us) talent William Elliot Whitmore. If your wondering why you've never heard of him try saying "William Eliot Whitford" after six pints of lager. The best adjective to describe his music is "raw". At least that's what the wee Irish lad who came up to me three times during one song to ask his name called it. By the time he got back to his mates, he'd forgotton the name. By the third go, I couldn't pronounce it either. But he's from Ohio, he's bluesy, folksy, and raw on a banjo. Do yourself a favour. Go listen to Digging my Grave on myspace.


We weren't the only ones who had chills running down our spines and believe me, with the main act coming up we were a tough crowd to impress. Luckily we happened to meet the guy on the blue couch so we weren't afraid to let our emotions out.

To give you another chance to tell me who was headlining (upstate got the second act already) I'll review the rest of the evening when my ears stop ringing you've had a chance to garner the clues in this post.

Going Out Tomorrow Night

Anyone want to guess who'll be gigging?
There are clues but no prizes, just the satisfaction of knowing you have a superior knowledge of music from the last twenty years or so. Oh, and bragging rights of course. Extra points if you can also identify the songs:

1) Still there's a light I hold before me
You're the measure of my dreams

2) There was nothing ever gained
By a wet thing called a tear

3) And as the sunset came to meet
The evening on the hill
I told you I'd always love you

and

4) If you're lonely, I will call -
If you're poorly, I will send poetry

5) Is there a flag that flies above your heart
And is my name writ there upon it?

6) Here we are in our summer years
Living on icecream and chocolate kisses

Remember: Googling the lyrics is cheating, and as there are no prizes, pretty pointless. Have fun.

Bathroom flooring: the tip

Finally I got the long anticipated email from Apartment therapy with the tip for doing your own cheap and chunky marble floor. Big disappointment. The tip? Buy cheap marble pieces from Home Depot and buff them down to kill the shine. I'd already thought of that. But I'm not sure that's going to make for easy cleaning and that's a high priority here. Everything cleans off polished marble, including the red wine ring I found three weeks after our last party. (Which of you put that red glass bowl over the stain?) I just Windexed it off. But buffed marble and possible pee sounds like it might lead to odd yellow stains on the floor, and that would annoy me.
Does anyone know whether buffing makes marble more pervious?
Otherwise I could go with Porcelanosa Urbatek Zone Nature, which would be maintenance free and cheaper at $5.95 sq'.

Getting started on the bathroom

I can't tell you how long I've waited to type those words. Unfortunately, I had hoped that I'd be writing about the long anticipated master bath remodel but that would be too easy. We're still at the "You haven't shown me a plan" "I showed you the plan" "That's not a plan. It's a sketch, a very vague sketch" stage.
But we do have one other bath we have to renovate. Or half-bath. Or powder-room as they call it here. The little WC under the stairs. The one I said would have to wait until we renovated the kitchen. (I should make two New Year's Resolution lists in future. One of things we plan to do that year, these will never get done, and a second list of things that won't even be considered because it seems that these will never be completed at any cost).
And it all started with a call to our great handyman to come help me fix the rotted siding under the sliding door. You see because he does fabulous work he's greatly in demand. So when you've got him you don't want to let him leave without tackling all the little chores you can't do yourself. Like tile the 52"x 56" space that is the downstairs loo.


Inspiration from great room credenza

I know exactly what I want in there: Ronbow Red and Black Vessel sink with a long neck vessel faucet on a Carrara marble countertop. See how easy this will be? The only thing I need to do now is pick the floor tiles. And yesterday I saw just the thing over at apartment therapy: Cheap and Chunky DIY marble tile floor. That's it exactly. Perfect. And they will tell me how to do it. Only yesterday's email with the details didn't come and I'm waiting impatiently, checking my inbox every two seconds. Because I need to go get the necessary materials so that we are ready when The Handyman comes and then we can cross this project off the list.

A round up of recent chores

We knocked a few off the punch-list, we even hope not to have to do a couple of them again for at least a few days, weeks months - or EVER!
1) Secure the fence. Again. It blew down during the storms over the weekend. It's happened at least once a year since we moved in. In the past we've re-nailed it, re-braced it, shored it up and bracketed it. This time we have two pieces of cedar on either side of the fence acting as supports, plus one branch that snapped off a Dogwood. I have no confidence that this will be equal to a stiff breeze. The only way to fix this is to re-fence.
2) Screw the hinge back on the mudroom door. Again. This time we not only used longer screws, we also glued them into the wood. It has a 50% chance of being a permanent solution.
3) Straighten the drive post light. Again. The one the local hooligan hit with a baseball bat two summers ago. This time I took a piece of bluestone and rammed it down the side of the post to prop it up. The bluestone will be hidden by the hostas in another month. Probability of success? 75-80%. I don't think this will move unless someone swings on it. Or swings at it with a blunt instrument.
4) Refinish the back door. The one with the dog scratches made not by our puppies but the dog of the previous owner, and the nicks that were made when we had the tempered glass put in. I used Restore-a-Finish, it took almost no time and little effort. Now you can't see the scratches. I went over the entire door. It gleams. I was so impressed I did the laundry door, the window in the kitchen, the sliding door and assorted pieces of baseboard. I love this product.
The only downside is that you can really tell where you used the product so to avoid the tell-tale "I got bored and achey and went off to have a Martini" line on the woodwork you have to keep going. And when you have 70' linear of baseboard Martini time can seem a long way off.

Bear?

Look closely at the Jamie Geller Dutra Original Abstract painting. What do you see? I see a landscape on a rainy day with the sun glinting through the rocks in the background.


What does the Guy see in his birthday painting? A bear, that's what. It took me ages to see what he was on about but eventually I got it.
Anyone else see it?

We have a winner

and it's me. Yippee.
Actually it's The Cool House whose charms were appreciated. It won the Housetribe House of the Week competition.
Housetribe is a relatively new community-based website all about houses; whether it's searching their database to buy, sell or rent property, or showing off your own home or, what most people probably do, gawping at other people's houses, pop over to Housetribes, you're bound to find something interesting.

Art, moveable art

If the new Jamie Geller Dutra painting is in the master bedroom, then where is the Aboriginal art "Myths of Uluru" that I gave the guy for his birthday three years ago?
Here's the thing: I never felt that painting was 100% at home in our bedroom, the colors weren't quite right and it was a little small for the space. So I moved it to me office, right above the computer and it's extraordinary.


The ochre and red dots are perfectly balanced by the Asger Jorn Uden Titel (1943-44) poster from the Louisiana Museum collection in Denmark that hangs on the opposite wall,


and the Indonesian mask by the window. It's getting global in here.


Just in case you thought I was leaving out the Americas, New York is represented by three photos on the wall nearest the door.
Piece by piece the house is coming together.

Birthday, Secret, Painting

I have been patiently anticipating writing about this for a month now.

On February 10 I received an email from Jake Gorst announcing the opening of artist Jamie Geller Dutra's store on etsy. Jamie is Jake's mother and daughter of Shirley and Andrew Geller, architect of The Cool House. The email came fortuitously as I was looking for something arty and modern for "the guy's" birthday. I fell in love with original abstract painting in shades of green, bright blue, purple, red and gold, quickly purchased it and as soon as it was in my hands I dropped it off at the Framing Workshop in Huntington in the hope if getting it framed by this weekend.

The whole time I wanted to blog about how fabulous the painting was, how the colours would fit perfectly in our bedroom, especially how the abstract reminded me of lakes and mountains, shafts of sunshine and waterfalls, and I couldn't because I wanted it to be a big birthday surprise. I did blog about Jamie's site on 2modern design, but I couldn't add any personal elements in case the guy got wind of it. Very frustrating.

That I'm impatient is no secret but did you also know I am hopeless at fibbing and getting the painting home without the guy finding out would stretch my artifice to its limit? First I had to rope a neighbor into picking up the framed painting because it was too wide to fit in my car; this entailed many secret phone calls and emails and eventually a fictitious trip to look at furniture with said neighbor. The guy was suspicious, and very reluctant to leave the house at all yesterday (normally he's running errands all over the place on Saturdays) but the five inches of rain we had may have been responsible for that. Finally we went out to dinner and per the plan our neighbors snuck the painting into the garage while we were out, hiding it behind my car.


This morning I placed it in the kitchen and he was totally blown away by it. I picked a wood frame with a brushed stainless steel finish that picks up on the cool grey tones and an off-white matte that really defines the colours in the painting. We hung it over the sofa in our room and suddenly the guy understood why I made him rearrange the furniture in there last week. I told him it was so the room would appear larger (which it did) but really it was so the painting could be positioned on this wall and seen from the great room, back stairs and landing.


All this subterfuge was exhausting. I have only the greatest admiration for people who pull off surprise parties for family members, I don't know how they can get everyone to cooperate without letting the secret out. But all the drama was worth it when I saw the wonderful work of art as I walked up the back stairs and the look on the guy's face when he opened his present this morning.

Danish modern in the English Home Counties

The Danish architect Jorn Utzon, who designed the Sydney Opera House, also designed residential houses. Up for sale for the first time since it was built, is what the Times describes as "probably the best modern house in the world".*
Not only was it designed by a great Modern architect, it was built for Povl Ahm who worked for the engineering firm Arup and who demanded only the best for his own home. Built of yellow London brick, concrete with teak window frames, the house looks exactly as it did when forty-five years ago. Inside Höganäs floor tiles, similar to those used in the Sydney Opera House, flow from room to room and the kitchen and baths have cabinetry of Oregon pine that looks completely fresh. The rooms are filled with Arne Jacobsen Egg chairs and other Danish modern furniture. Check out interior and exterior shots here, but do it quickly, they're bound to disappear once it's sold.
The 4,000 sq' house is offered for sale by The Modern House Estate Agents listed at £2.5 million ($5.000.000). Buyers will not be able to significantly alter the house, as it has a Grade II listing, which is given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest" and planning permission has to be sought before any renovation can be considered. But really, when a house is this well-built, well-maintained and well-decorated why would you change a thing?

*that's only because they haven't seen mine yet.

Casulty of winter?

Checking the yard yesterday I made an upsetting discovery. One of the pretty azaleas had snapped of at the base and was lying on the ground. What made it worse is that the leaves were just starting to uncurl, a sure sign of the approaching spring.I'm not sure if it succumbed to a overload of wet snow from the previous week's downfall, a falling tree branch knocked it off or a cat jumped off the fence and landed on it.


This would be the cat most likely to do the damage. Look at the way he is eyeing the azalea. And, sob, look at how beautifully it blossomed last year.


There is nothing left but the stump, so I picked up the branch and buried the broken off part in a pot outside the back door. I don't expect it to magically blossom but at least it doesn't look so forlorn.

One small village, one big price difference

Two houses went on the market yesterday: one to the left us and one to the right. The first is a 1955 farm ranch that looks, apart from the new (2007) roof, as if it hasn't been touched since it was built in 1955. The second was the gardener's cottage to the Ferguson Estate and was completely redone and extended vertically in 2006. It's asking price of $1,750,000 reflects all the work that has been undertaken to turn the former cottage into an Italian-inspired villa. Even so it only has has three bedrooms, which may put off a lot of potential buyers and this house is situated right on the edge of the property line, backing up to a steep hill. You are literally 3' away from the road, so imagine the potential noise of trucks and schools buses making the incline all day long.
The price of the fixer-upper (that's Great Opportunity! in realtor-speak) is $799,000. Almost a million less than the renovated home. You do get a full, flat acre and 5 bedrooms but farm ranches aren't a popular style these days. My best guess is that this would be the value of the land only, and we're looking at another teardown. And at that price, in this village, it's a bargain.

File it under lust, baby

Looking through some inspiring photos on the internets today I came across the Legna Lightbox 2 from Jef Designs. This digital painting is illuminated by three fluorescent tubes creating a soft, back-lit work of art.
I want something like this to replace the Artimide Logico light on the landing. I'm not sure that the Legna lightbox would provide enough light along the corridor but it's certainly the right size (20h x 30l x 3.5d) and has the wood effect in it that we just can't get enough of in the Cool House. Can you image how striking it would look there? As it costs $1500 and our lighting budget right now stands at $0 or less I won't be able to find out if it would be as stunning on our wall. I'll just have to worship it from afar.

Beach Stones

We walked on the beach early this morning, in celebration of temperatures in the fifties. The tide was low and calm and the water crystal clear. I took this photo on the edge of the Sound with all the tiny stones and shells glistening through the water in the morning sun. It reminded me that Spring is almost here.

Living with a blogger

Saturday morning, the guy (formerly known as Steven, but a recent conversation with a friend reminded me that her three year old daughter knew the names of everyone around her except for Steven who she referred to as "the guy") who had been away for a week, came into the kitchen looking puzzled.
"Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"That sculpture in the great room. Did we always have that?"
"Why?"
"Well, I don't remember it but I read your blog while I was away and there was a photo of it but you didn't mention it in the post."
"So you thought....?"
"I thought I was losing my memory, because if you'd bought it you would have blogged it."


The philosophical question is: if it isn't blogged, does it really exist?

Geodesic Dome House

At the corner of two perfectly ordinary suburban streets in Eaton's Neck, Long Island between the ubiquitous ranches and two-storey homes is this geodesic house. We were taking advantage of a really beautiful day to drive out and revisit some of the properties we had seen when we were looking to buy The Coo; House four years ago. Turning down one residential street we were confronted by the dome house. It fits so well into the neighborhood that we'd actually driven past it in the other direction and not even noticed it.
The striking thing about this home, apart from the design of course, is that it is so well maintained. It looks very similar to the Fuller Dome Home in Carbondale, IL, the residence of Bucky Fuller, the architect and inventor who poularised geodesic domes, and his wife Anne. That dome is currently undergoing a major preservation effort.
Although the high point of their popularity was the 1960s and 70s, residential domes are still being made today and, as this GeoSphere video shows, are relatively simple to construct. What may be more challenging is outfitting them to meet the various state and town building codes. But given their energy-efficiency and relatively low build-cost, maybe it's time for a resurgence of this distinctive building model.

Modernism on Long Island*

* including a personal surprise


Studio Proprietor John J. Fondrisi with Account Executives Melissa Beck (left) and Denise Garcia at the DWR Roslyn Leap into modern Long Island Event, February 29 2008.


Lovers of architecture and design were celebrating modernism on Long Island last night with a showing of the documentary "History Along the Turnpike: Levittown," by Richard Altamonte. Responding to a shortage of housing for returning World War II veterans, Levitt & Sons built 17,447 Cape Cod and ranch style houses between 1947 and 1951. Although tiny by today's standards at 750-800 sq ft, the houses were designed to be readily extended and came equipped with Bendix washing machines, Tracy All-steel cabinets and Themopane Insulated glass. All this and a TV built into the space under the stairwell for $7,990. Incidentally, some of Levitt's innovative ideas were influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright on a house in Great Neck, NY.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the film were the interior shots of the homes with their now iconic furniture. The Noguchi table designed in 1947 was the centerpiece of one living room, while others featured the Eames Eiffel Chairs and George Nelson clocks. The DWR team showcased the designs with screenings of the films of Charles and Ray Eames and a draw to win a George Nelson clock and a copy of his classic book How to See.

The DWR studios are great venues for screening movies, after all you get to test out the comfort of their furniture for a good while, check out the lighting in the dark rather than daylight and they provide great nibbles, not just cheese and wine but salami, vegetables and dips, too. And you meet other lovers of modern design and architecture. At last night's event we had a totally unexpected meeting with the architect Joe Scarpella and his wife Diane who, it turned out, had almost bought The Cool House in 2004. How's that for a coincidence?

Moving Day

m is for? moving? modern? modernemama?

New header, new favicon. Something's afoot. I'm changing things around, mixing it up a little to reflect that things are feeling different now at the Cool House. There's less emphasis on the day to day drama of renovation largely because the house is now waterproof and four of the bathrooms are fully operational again. We still have a couple of big (read expensive) projects to do but they aren't "do it now or the house will fall down" things. There's still plenty of little chores, too, but they are more maintenance than updating.

Recently there have been more posts about decor than dealing with rot, more about shopping than stripping walls. So, as we're busy adding art and sculpture that reflects our taste and the sensibility of the house, I decided to give the old blog a makeover.

Some people may have already noticed that they've been redirected to a new address. Update your bookmarks, I'm now at modernemama.com. But don't worry, you will be redirected and everything will still be in it's old place on the page; at least until I get my act together and finish arranging everything fabulously at the new place. Until then be content with the new banner, the favicon and the tag-line: The Cool House, uniquely modern.

Celebrate Years of Modernism this Leap Year

Just a reminder that tomorrow, February 29, is a very special day; it only comes around once every four years and you can celebrate it by joining DWR Roslyn in tracing modernism on Long Island with a screening of the film "History Along the Turnpike: Levittown," by Richard Altamonte.
Levittown is known as the first modern suburb in America, producing some iconic architecture during its explosion of mid-century, postwar construction.
You won't want to miss the drawing for an iconic George Nelson Clock and a copy of Nelson's book, "How to See."
The film screening lasts 25 minutes and will begin promptly at 7pm and the invitation promises wine, cheese and lively conversation.

Leap into modern Long Island
Friday, February 29, 5–8 pm

DWR Roslyn Studio
1085 Northern Blvd
Roslyn, NY 11576
Phone: 516.365.3158

Directions: to DWR showroom here

Successful shopping

I went shopping yesterday and picked up two bunches of pussy willows for $2.99 each. Very springlike.
I also got the toy-loving dog a "bearman" to replace the last one that is somewhere in the yard buried under a mound of snow, or leaves, or mud.



This 'bear man' will be named 'bear bear' because he looks like a grizzly. Polly loves a good squeaky toy and I like to name things appropriately.

Bliiiing

From the "you can never have too much bling in your bathroom" department, the Italian firm Teknobili brings you the Oz collection. In collaboration with goldsmith Alberto Cotogno, designer Nilo Gioacchini has produced a solid gold faucet with 282 diamonds, total carats: 10.24.
A gold diamond-encrusted bidet faucet. I want to know how you keep that thing clean. I guess if you're asking that question, bling in the bath is not for you. Oh, and if you have to ask the price................
via Trendir

Earthquake, what earthquake?

This is one way to make sure you wake right up. I opened my email this morning at 7 AM and received this from Steven who's in London, England on business:
"I suspect by the time you read this that the earthquake I felt last night will be old news".
Good thing I had a cup of coffee in my hand.
A quick surf to good old BBC news got me the information because I hadn't heard a thing. I'd been up at 4 with the cats and put on the BBC world service to send me back to sleep and they didn't mention it, (although I do know the value of the dollar against the euro and pound, so don't spend anything over there, darling) and I woke up to NPR and there was nothing other than the Democratic debate and sub-prime crisis on that station this morning.
It wasn't a particularly large earthquake and the Brits reacted with the typical stiff upper lip. One senior citizen was quoted by the BBC: "When we found out we both said well, that's another thing we've lived through."

Help my houseplants

Have you ever seen anything more pathetic? These brown and shriveled plants aren't dead yet. In fact they've been hanging on in this state for quite some time. The one in the middle I bought as a huge healthy mother-in-law's tongue from Wholefoods in 2002. I chose it because nothing was supposed to kill them. Well, maybe not but I've managed to do it some serious damage. It's about an eighth the size it used to be and decidedly unhappy. The other two plants I inherited with the house. The Anthurium used to have big white waxy flowers, now it barely has leaves. And the 8' tall plant? I have no idea what it is but the broom handle I tied it to to stop it toppling over only adds to the element of desperation. I feel really bad about these two because I promised the previous home owner I'd take care of them.
I moved them so they'd get more light and put them all together so they could lean on each other for emotional support. But what else should I do?


Just so you don't think I have the gardening thumb of death, take a look at the Devils' Ivy in the dining room. Just running away with itself.



And then there's this beautiful orchid. Maybe I haven't had this one long enough to do major damage? I don't have seem to have problems with outdoor plants, so what can it be? Advice please.

Drip, drip

It's almost Spring and we are thawing out here. I can hear the drip, drip, drip of melting ice. But wait. Isn't that dripping sound awfully clear? Much closer than I'd imagine. Drip, dRIP, DRIP. Getting warmer now. There it is, under the kitchen sink. The hot water hose to the spray faucet is dripping.
I think we've found the answer to what's been puzzling us for many, many months.
Of course, now I have to fix it.............

Things that go bump in the night

Last night we were fast asleep when Steven shook me and asked "Did you hear that?" "What?" Actually I was really asleep so it was probably more like "Whaa...zzz." "Those two thuds".
I hadn't heard anything and I wasn't about to wake up properly, thrown on clothes, go downstairs, find the source of the thuds, deal with potential burglars or any other catastrophe. So I let the man deal with it and went back to sleep.
A little while later (I have no idea how long, I was asleep), I was shaken awake again by the returning hero. "I found it" "Hmmm?" "The problem" "Hmmm" "Don't you want to know what it was?"
I knew I wasn't going to get back to sleep until he had told the whole story. And here, for your edification, is the tale of things that go bump in the night.
I made chicken and dumplings yesterday (new recipe that replaces the butter or suet with sour cream) but the dishwasher was full so we stacked the dirty plates on the countertop. The thuds were the two plates hitting the kitchen floor. Luckily the plates were 1970s Royal Doulton Marbella stoneware and the floor is vinyl, so they are intact. If we'd had ceramic tiles they would have shattered, and we've lost quite a few china plates on the vinyl over the years.
How had the plates ended up on the floor? Steven says they had been licked clean so I can only surmise that one or more of these felines was the culprit. They were found huddled under the kitchen table doing their best to look innocent.
The question is: How can we identify the guilty party(ies)?


This one is good at catching water. Would his paw skills be equal to the task?


This one had a definite guilty air about her.


And this one looks as if he's already in gaol. That's where all three are headed if they don't cut out the nocturnal shenanigans.


One thing we can be sure about is that this cat is innocent. That's because he thinks he's a dog and he was with his doggy buddies far from the scene of the crime.
The other thing is that once Steven had reported his tale of valiant endeavours to me he fell straight back to sleep while I tossed and turned for a couple of hours. Quelle surprise!

Cake or death?

Guess what we will be doing this evening?
We have tickets to see Eddie Izzard at the Union Square Theatre in NYC. One little "oops" moment. I booked the tickets and didn't check the time of the performance. It starts at 10:30 pm. Since the bout of bugness we've haven't made it past the 10 o'clock news, so this should be an interesting experience. Hopefully the raucous laughter will keep us awake. What? You didn't think that was funny? Then check out this one



You liked it? He'll be gigging until March 8th..
The question is, should we complete the unique Britishness of the experience by eating fish & chips at A Salt & Battery first?

Snow Day Baking

What can you do when the snow is thickly falling outside? You could spend a few hours reading your favorite blogs, catching up on the laundry or cleaning the house. Or you could invite the neighbors over for spaghetti supper and spend the afternoon making Buffalo Bolognese, Tuscan bread and Lemon and Almond biscotti.


Ingredients
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon to finish
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs + 1 egg white to glaze
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped almonds


Method
Cream the butter and cup of sugar. Add the salt, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and whole eggs, beating well after each addition. Gradually stir in flour and almonds. Finish the mixing by hand and shape into 2 12"x6" rectangles.
Place these on a baking sheet 4" apart. Whisk the egg white until foamy and brush over the tops. Sprinkle the tablespoon of sugar over the dough and bake in a pre-heated 375F oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove and let cool on the tray for 1 hour. Then slice on the diagonal into 1/2" slices. Lower the oven temperature to 325F and bake for a further 10 minutes or so until drip and crisp.


Serve with espresso, or fruit salad with whipped cream. Or if your guests can't wait for the Fettucine to cook, they make an acceptable hors d'oeuvre!

Snow Gray?

No, he didn't go white overnight. That's simply a couple of inches of snow he gained on his head while walking the puppies to the beach and back.


Even Polly has a salt and pepper look. We're at 6" of white stuff, and counting.

Snow Day

The first proper snow of 2008. It's the right kind of snow, too: persistent, soft, large flakes; it looks like a fluffy, white blanket.