Project Bathrooms: Week One

Our bathrooms are twenty five years old. They still have all their original fixtures and 80's charm. But, it is time to make a change.

Norm left town on Sunday for work so I got to be in charge of everyone, kids, cats, contractors. Monday night into Tuesday morning, I didn't sleep. I was in terrible pain, my head, my neck, my throat, they all hurt. The Lab Scientist in me started running through all the things it could be. Starting with the worst things first, of course. I hoped that my son would remember to call 911 if he found me comatose and septic. I figured since I could still think about all those things, I wasn't in that bad of shape.

545am: The phone rings...school is cancelled due to impending snow storm. Snow Storm!!! I know that Norm showed my how to run the snowblower last winter. I am thinking I will need a refresher by phone. Our contractors arrived and began work. They moved my washer and dryer downstairs to the basement and began ripping down the walls and the ceiling in the first floor bath. Brayden asked, "Why are you wrecking the bathroom?" Mr. Bob, as the kids called him, was great. He worked hard to not make it too messy for us and he made sure that he left a vanity and a toilet for us to use. It didn't start snowing until about 500pm and then it snowed a lot! My snowblowing experience is very limited, but I did it.

Wednesday morning I woke up to a foot of snow on the ground. I had to dig Brayden out of the driveway to get him to the bus. My very sweet and helpful neighbors helped dig us out just in time for some guys to come get our old boiler out of the basement and for work to start again on the bathrooms. Mr Bob started pulling out the floors. Sophia is not feeling so well by this time. We hid from all the noise in my bedroom. Since I am not feeling so well either, I took the kids to Friendlys and called it a day.

Thursday there was more construction and more fever. They built the subfloor for our new shower. Friday morning Brayden threw up on the new subfloor. At least Mr Bob and Mr Kevin could laugh about it. They have kids too. I am sure I will laugh too, later.

By the end of week one, both bathrooms were demolished down the studs. We have a new shower ready to go and a usable vanity and toilet. Compared to the snow and sickness, the construction has not been so bad.

Mema's Chicken and Dumplings

I have been blogging for over a year and I think this is really the first truly Southern entry that I am posting. It is February in New England and I am officially "over" winter. Unfortunately, there is still at least two more months of winter weather and then a couple of months of cold and mud. All that being said, I have been thinking about warm and comfortable things. One thing that comes to mind is my Grandmother's chicken and dumplings.

I have had the recipe for a long time. My Mema, as I affectionately named her as a preschooler, actually told me the recipe and had me write it down. She lived next door to me and my brother and I would go visit and she would make it for us. I can still picture myself in her kitchen. Her kitchen was decorated with strawberries, even on the carpet. We would sit at the white wicker table and eat dumplings...mmmmm.

To make the chicken broth:

4 Chicken breasts and a few thigh pieces
4 cups of water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 or 2 garlic cloves

Bring the water to a boil and cook the chicken.
Remove the chicken pieces and drop the dumplings in.
Tear chicken pieces and add them back in to pot.

To make dumplings:

1 1/2 cup sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp Crisco
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. water

Sift dry ingredients together, cut in Crisco, add milk and water. If it is to wet, add more flour. If the dough is too dry, add more water. Roll out and cut into squares. Drop in chicken broth and cook 10 minutes, uncovered.