The New Mail Box

One of the projects on my ever growing to do list was to replace my crappy  dented  mail box.  When I moved to my little house years ago, there was no mailbox. The previous owners had a post office box at the village post office. Our little road with 5 houses has all the mailboxes at the end of the road in a row. It's pretty common when you live in a rural area to have this sort of box arrangement.

When I moved to my house,I WANTED a mail box, my own personal mail box for my own personal mail.  I bought a box and a friend of mine installed it for me oh so long ago as part of a housewarming present. 

About three years ago, some of the degenerative youth of my town did what degenerative youth have done for years, they took a baseball bat to a bunch of boxes and smashed them up.   Given the fact my mail box is in the middle of 5 others, what were the odds that mine would get hit as compared to the ones on the end.   Well it did.  See what it looked like below. Note, the other boxes which are just out of the photo were NOT damaged at all......

The front door was missing, the side was all bent, no package hook and the flag was useless.


I started to look for a replacement mail box.  Your basic metal mail box was expensive, like way more than I remembered paying for the first box.  Plus I had myself convinced that it would be complicated to replace.   And I wanted one that was not basic black and it had to be metal.   

Wandering through the Home Depot a few weeks ago, they had these bronze colored metal mailboxes on sale for $9.99.  I grabbed one without thinking. I got back to my car, slapped my head and said "What was I thinking?"   I don't know if I can replace the mail box all by myself.

Huh, silly me.  I had to remind myself of my new mantra, girls with power tools rule.

Off I went to the mail box with my cordless drill, two screwdrivers, a crow bar and a hammer.  It was easier than I thought.  The box was screwed to the wood base with some very old, very rusted, very small and very easier to remove screws.  I dusted off the wood base, and went back to the house to get the new mail box and some wood screws.  I dropped the new box on the base and used a couple new wood screws to fasten the box on the wood base.  Never had to use the screwdrivers, crow bar or hammer. Yeah a bit of overkill to bring them all up to the box. 

Total time start to finish,  about 12 minutes including the short walk from the road back to the house. I now have a nice new mail box with a door that closes so my mail will stay nice and dry. I have since added new stick on house numbers to make it complete! 

One thing off my list and done all by my lonesome!

I survived Sandy!

I survived Hurricane Sandy just fine. BUT if I have to hear one more person in this area bitch about not being prepared, I think I may have to find them and bitch slap them. 

Come on people!  Get with the program!

Chores

Hard to believe that fall is actually here. I spent part of today doing some of my fall chores. Today's chore was washing my windows. I managed to get all but one of the house windows done inside and out.   I have one window that will require me moving my desk and all the electronics.  It can wait until next week.  

The dog room is another story. I got the exterior of the windows done, I have to do an overhaul on the room, crates out, floor swept and washed, I can then clean the inside of the windows and make sure they are all in "their upright position".  It will also give me some time to think, yet again, about putting plastic on those windows or some sort of wind/cold/winter protection.  

Dinner Rachel Style

Sooo when we went to Rachael Ray a few weeks ago, Rach (see we are on nickname terms) made this maple and mustard chicken.  It has many of my favorite ingredients, chicken, mustard, maple syrup, onions, potatoes, butter, garlic...... yumm

I've been waiting for a good day to make this dish.  I had a few variations on her reciepi. I used a cut up chicken in stead of a chicken done in quarters. I ended up put the garlic in the pan with the tatties, onions and apples instead of in the sauce.   And I did not use a shallot.  I thought I had one, but did not.

This is the cut up apples, onions and tatties covered in some melted butter salt and pepper.

This is the cut up chicken lovingly rubbed with Olive Oil, salt and pepper. 

The veggie mix after roasting for 10 minutes as Rach said we should. I think I should have roasted the veg a little longer, in the end the tatties were a bit on the al dente side... 

The chicken on top of the veg with the maple syrup and mustard mix.  I'd use a bit less syrup and a bit more moutard the next time I made this. I'd also use a bit more cider vinegar...

The finished product out of the oven.  It made the house smell amazing....

On my dish, yes that is the steam from the food rising in the photo, I don't have a haunted plate!

The veg after being stuck back in the oven for an additional 15 minutes.  It made the tatties oh so much better.   Next time I will roast the veg a bit longer.....

I'm going to be eating leftovers for the rest of the weekend.......

You can find Rachael's Recipe by clicking here.here  

Things I Love

1) Hearing from an old friend after months and feeling like it has been only days,

2) A clean kitchen floor.

3) A good nights sleep.

4) A proper cup of tea.

5) Finding an extra $20 in my wallet.



Note, this is not a complete list.   

Might, what a limiting word.....

This is what I don't understand.  Why can't people help themselves? I mean, I see and deal with more people who can't help themselves and live in a world of : might".  As in, it might rain, so I won't go on a bike ride.There might be flowering plants on the hiking path that might make me sneeze, I might need all those old clothes that never fit me any more, I can't get rid of those old files as I might need them. I can't say no to someone because I might hurt their feelings......

I mean, seriously?  

Things I Hate

1) Cold damp dreary days.
2) My achey knees.
3) Soggy Slippers.
4) Wine that has gone "off".
5) People who don't read e-mails,letters,documents until the end then ask stupid questions...



Please note, this is NOT a complete list

Who Needs A Panini Press

I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner tonight, a smushed grilled cheese sandwich. I don't have a panini press, so I improvised!