The Coffee House

snowbear · Dec 23, 2023

MLW is whitewashing the fireplace. Off to a good start.

I went to the hardwood mill to replace the board I cut too short (I was running my mouth to MLW instead of paying attention to the line on the wood). They didn’t have any pear in a size I needed so I got some English Sycamore. A very light wood but there is some fiddle-back banding. I think this is going to go together well.

snowbear · Dec 23, 2023

Apparently I didn’t hit “Post” after composing. Here is the mantle, clamped up. The sycamore needs to be cut to size, the dovetails cut in the front and side trim pieces, pocket holes drilled, assembled, sanded and finished, then attached to the fireplace (plugged screws).

Detail of top piece

terri · Dec 24, 2023

snowbear said:
Apparently I didn’t hit “Post” after composing. Here is the mantle, clamped up. The sycamore needs to be cut to size, the dovetails cut in the front and side trim pieces, pocket holes drilled, assembled, sanded and finished, then attached to the fireplace (plugged screws).
View attachment 270637
Detail of top piece

View attachment 270638

Wow! That wood is gorgeous!

I also love the brickwork pattern around the fireplace. Just one of those little things that make it special.

This is going to be beautiful. Good work by both of you!

Original katomi · Dec 24, 2023

Looking good

CherylL · Dec 24, 2023

Cooking today for tomorrow's meal. We don't know exactly when youngest daughter and her husband/kids will arrive. They usually give a time and then add 2 hours lol.

To make life easier, I am serving buffet of ham, turkey and shrimp. Make your own sandwich, deli sides, veggies & dip, chips and homemade treats. With paper plates (gasp).

I would prefer a sit down meal with MIL's dinner set, but this year it will be casual. I know traveling with a 5yo and a 5 mo has its challenges. The hard part will be keeping the in-town 3 grands from opening gifts before the others get here.

Shots of frozen liquor 43 topped with cream will be my go-to :lol:

snowbear · Dec 24, 2023

terri said:
Wow! That wood is gorgeous!

I also love the brickwork pattern around the fireplace. Just one of those little things that make it special.

This is going to be beautiful. Good work by both of you!

Original katomi said:
Looking good

Thankg, peeps. We are going to thin & erase some of the whitewash so the red brich shows through a little - give it a distressed look. If we don't like it, we can always put the white back on.

There's a brass screen that I took off. It's in the basement, at the momenrt, getting a light sanding and a spray of black paint.

Original katomi · Dec 24, 2023

Merry Christmas all if you don’t get what you want I hope you get what you need.
hugs to all
night all it’s 1042 pm here, I have to be up early to cook
Katomi

limr · Dec 24, 2023

jeffashman said:
Sounds like the Swedish Tea Rings my DW makes. Same ingredients, but the dough is rolled out flat, and the walnut-honey-cinnamon mixture is spread out on the dough. Then rolled up and made into a circle/wreath and washed with eggwhite. Sharp knife to put diagonal scores all the way around. Finally, after it comes out of the oven, it is drizzled with a vanilla icing/glaze. Mmmmmmm!

This was rolled out, cut into three strips, spread with the mixture and rolled/twisted, and then braided and formed into a ring. Egg wash, bake and glaze after cooling. If I do say so myself, it came out a.maaaaa.zing.

Holidays for us are very low-key. Out of all of my siblings, only one had kids, and my two nephews are already grown, so I barely had to deal with the question of figuring out when/if to stop giving gifts to a younger generation. The two sisters and I who still live in the same area just focus on a nice dinner together (with partners) on Christmas Eve - some small gifts but mostly yummy food and wine and company. Buzz and I will have a quiet brunch by ourselves tomorrow. The whole thing suits me pretty well.

VidThreeNorth · Dec 25, 2023

I had an odd Christmas Eve which ended up without dinner. So I bought a "Bake City Cookie+" Protein Oatmeal Raisin cookie, which I have never noticed before, and a big single orange juice bottle. After that and some left over bread I felt equivalent to a stuffed turkey, which I guess was fitting. Not bad. Have a Merry Christmas if you are awake!

VidThreeNorth · Dec 25, 2023

Oh, and thanks to all for the info re. Dec 22! I have temporarily posted my Time-Lapse as follows:

"20231222 Sunrise Timelapse", [length 0:54].

Note: I am not expecting anyone to bother to look at this one. As I have implied, it was not particularly good. I have posted it and mentioned it here, just for completeness. I rarely delete things from YouTube, but I plan to delete this file some time after New Years' day.

smoke665 · Dec 25, 2023

@VidThreeNorth granted it might have been better had the sky cooperated, but I still found it mesmerising enough that I watched it through.

smoke665 · Dec 25, 2023

Yesterday was our day with family. I just entered my daily calories plus a 1000 more and said the heck with it. First time in many weeks I've been stuffed. Everyone had a great time, the kids really enjoy the Christmas Bingo this year. Each winner got to draw a prize from a basket full of little toys. I think they were more excited about winning little trinkets than they were with their gifts.

Today it's just DW, Phoebe and I. Planning on a quiet day inside as it's rainy and nasty outside.

Hope everyone has a joyous and safe Merry Christmas

snowbear · Dec 25, 2023

Happy Holidays to all of you Hosers.

Such slackers are we; I got the Christmas and birthday gifts wrapped this morning (MLSIL’s birthday is later this week). We’ll head up to her place shortly.

terri · Dec 25, 2023

We had a wonderful, low key Christmas day. I baked a cherry pie yesterday so dessert was in the bag.

Dinner today was a standing rib roast, hubby's famous Yukon gold mashed potatoes, salad followed by cherry pie. My mom drove herself to visit her old neighbors, got to talking and was 2 hours late getting here. :lol:

She still gets around so well it's kind of amazing. It all turned out well, and our phone calls to other family members were fun sitting here by the fire.

Tomorrow my niece is driving down and we're all going to lunch. This is the niece who had the recent swearing-in ceremony at the US Supreme Court, so it will be fun to hear all the details.

Glad to hear so many nice holiday stories. Merry Christmas, hosers! :icon_santa:

jeffashman · Dec 26, 2023

CherylL said:
Cooking today for tomorrow's meal. We don't know exactly when youngest daughter and her husband/kids will arrive. They usually give a time and then add 2 hours lol.

To make life easier, I am serving buffet of ham, turkey and shrimp. Make your own sandwich, deli sides, veggies & dip, chips and homemade treats. With paper plates (gasp).

I would prefer a sit down meal with MIL's dinner set, but this year it will be casual. I know traveling with a 5yo and a 5 mo has its challenges. The hard part will be keeping the in-town 3 grands from opening gifts before the others get here.

Shots of frozen liquor 43 topped with cream will be my go-to

We've gone to buffet style meals for holiday get-togethers. Easier prep in most cases, folks can bring things to contribute to the meal, and definitely easier cleanup.