The Plan ®

The septic contractors were good as their word and arrived bright and early yesterday (just as I was on my way out to 'Mom's Day Off').

James was very pleased with how they worked. Their attitude, care and professionalism was first rate! Despite having to wait on the pumping truck they got everything prepared and ready to roll, then got some lunch early while they were waiting. No time wasted. Unfortunately with the ceiling of the tank caved in they couldn't pump out the rocks that were in it. So the answer was to pump out the sewage, leave the rocks, dig a hole right beside the new one and rebury it, filling it in with rock and dirt (no more collapses!)

They had to move the pile of topsoil I had in the driveway for the flower beds, so they very kindly moved it all to the big empty hole at the back where the tree stumps came out (which was exactly where I wanted it). Couldn't talk em into digging the rest of the swamp drainage trench for us, but we're really gonna have to get the mini excavator again anyway to finish smoothing out the BIG hole, but all in all not bad.

They took GREAT care not to damage the flower bed out front, which was quite amazing, it was so close to the hole I figured it was a goner. Not a single flower disturbed! And despite all the digging they did a very neat job of cleaning up after themselves and smoothed the soil out very well. Yeah I've still gotta put a little topsoil down there to cover some rock, and seed it with grass seed... but it's actually quite neat, considering how much we'd had it torn up from the excavator last fall.

When I think about the disaster that the septic tank caving in was, I'm really very pleased and relieved at the eventual outcome.

For the local folks - if you've got an issue, I can't recommend Wade's Excavating and Septic Services in Flatrock highly enough. These guys were just great.


AND as a bonus, James managed to get the laser working again (we won't talk about how BIG a scare having THAT not work was! Fortunately it was a very short lived scare) and did them a sample glass. They then bought an order of 20 on the spot! Ya know we could really make a go of the whole laser, dye sublimation printing thing if either one of us had a clue about marketing or sales (but that's a whole other post ...)

---

More musings on gardening. Pretty much the majority of my landscaping budget had been spent and I wasn't really planning on doing a lot more to the gardens this year, but MUN Botanical Gardens were having their annual flower and cuttings sale. It was for a good cause and I hadn't seen the Botanical Gardens yet, I slipped a few dollars in my pocket and off I went. I probably spent another $50, and I still don't really have a lot of an idea what I'm doing. I've got a general overall idea what I want to accomplish; so I got some more ground cover plants; a couple kinds of phlox, needed some ferns for the great gaping hole by the forest, some other interesting bits and pieces. But the real value of the trip was the inspiration! They have some amazing shade gardens. The biggest pain for me has always been how much shade I have to deal with here, nothing is completely a 'sunny' spot, and I've always been kind of unimpressed with the plants recommended for shade gardens. What I discovered was "Wow a hosta I actually LIKE!" and that I can have bright colour in a shade garden. Lots to inspire me, but I was also rushing. I did get some lovely photos of the gardens before my camera batteries died. So I think another more paced trip is in order, especially as more of their summer stuff starts filling in, with full camera batteries and a notebook in hand.

( where I get carried away with pretty pictures )
Now I think I'll go re-pot some tomatoes and herbs.

You've heard me talk of my dream of an 'Apothecary Kitchen'. The kitchen reno we've done here is a lot more traditional kitchen than that, but I'm always tinkering with that plan for that perfect kitchen dream.

But what is an 'Apothecary Kitchen', and why?

The apothecary kitchen is one filled with jars and bottles and vials of powders and liquids and herbs and colours and scents. It's filled with tools and devices - some of it seems magical and mysterious. What sort of powders?


The results of a recent spice restocking trip. I saw a TV show recently where someone opened a spice drawer and the host was agog at the array of 24 bottles.... I have 60. 60 different flavours, spices, and I'm still missing mace, hot paprika, and a few others.


For me, the one 'art' I consider myself an adept with. I love all the arts, but cooking is where I can call myself talented. Professional? No. I've just not got the hand/eye coordination to be able to do it in a professional environment, but I do have the creativity.

Spices are my paint box. Chicken, fish, beef, pork - they're just meat until you add the spices, add the flavour. They are the canvas, the spice cupboard is what I create with.




And then there are the pantry cupboards. There simply isn't enough storage in our kitchen. Not enough space fror my spices, for our glassware collection, for our cookware collection, for the small appliances, and for the FOOD.


So we added stand alone pantry cupboards, 3 of them, and they're overflowing. They don't really work in the kitchen, so they're around the corner in the mudroom (which without a door is a bit more of a hallway extension). It's a solution here, but it's not the dream.

The 'Apothecary Kitchen' has a separate pantry, walk in cooler, and it has... OPEN shelving. Yes, yes, I know it's a decorator blashphamy but one thing I've learned: if you cook cupboards are an abomination! How much time do you spend when cooking digging through a cupboard for a bowl, a tool, or a can hidden at the back? It's a frustrating waste. Open shelving, no more than 2 items deep, hanging pot racks these elminate that aggrevation. Look at pro kitchens, look at cooking shows, ask a good home cook - open shelves. The ability to reach one handed and get what you need. 'What about the mess?", you cry. My kitchen will be an artist's studio - it's not supposed to be neat, it's supposed to be functional and creative. "A clean desk is a sign of a sick mind". I'm looking forward to having space to be MESSY!