Author Archives: Julie

A French-Inspired Fourth of July Followed By A Basement Flood…

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Julie

When it was Bastille Day a few days ago and we ended up throwing a couple of burgers on the grill (chased down however,  with a Cote du Rhone), I realized that our 4th of July had actually been kind … Continue reading →

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Reflections From the Red House: Baking in a Heat Wave and Surviving a High School Graduation

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Julie

Yes, it has actually taken me nearly three weeks to get over my youngest child’s graduation and coming up to “relax,” at the Red House has given me a moment to reflect on this event. (I’m “relaxing” because it’s raining … Continue reading →

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My Aching Back: A Temporary Kitchen Sink And A Garden Growing Slowly

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Julie

I decided the old farm sink that was held together by duct tape on top of some sort of cabinet had to go. So we corralled someone who was doing a different home repair project for us one day to … Continue reading →

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The Toaster Oven That Doesn’t Toast

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Julie

This is a short story.  We had a toaster oven we had inherited from our son’s ex-girlfriend’s father.  Really.  I put in on a baker’s rack in the Red House and was just lucky that it kind of worked. But … Continue reading →

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Progress: Old Porch Gone, New Window In and Making Toaster Oven “Baguette” in Between

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Julie

This past month we’ve managed to put in new French doors and our old cement porch is finally history!  That’s the good news.  The bad news is the first week our porch was demolished, we had to use a cinderblock … Continue reading →

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Planting, A New Fence, and Please No More Pizza on the Grill!

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Julie

I rarely write about something kind of dumb that my husband has done…yet, when it comes to gardening, well, I just had to share this one. When I’m busy (which is always), he offers to “help.” This could be something … Continue reading →

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A Grilling Weekend

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Julie

Since the weather has warmed up a bit we decided it would be ok to pull out the grill and cook.  First we had to drag the grill out of the garage, hose it off, and then check the propane … Continue reading →

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Garlic Is Growing

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Julie

While its been a mild winter and bone dry, the garlic is growing up at the Red House — lots of cute little green shoots poking up through the soil which is encouraging. Not so encouraging is the amount of … Continue reading →

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Red House Fondue

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Julie

The thing is, I grew up eating a lot of fondue — both meat and cheese. Maybe it was a 70’s thing or maybe it was just Mom’s way of saying it’s “fondue night,” so she didn’t have to cook.  … Continue reading →

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Christmas Over, New Year Begins With The Impact Driver the Favorite Toy

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Julie

I think my Christmas cookie baking scenario should have given me an inkling that 2011 wasn’t going to go out easy. For starters, I’ve never had a problem making cookies.  This year it seemed I made batches of my usual … Continue reading →

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