Saturday, December 28, 2024

What's up?

Answer: the ceiling!

We are putting in a new ceiling in the kitchen. The ceilings downstairs are over 9 feet. We are dropping the ceiling by a foot in the kitchen. The bathroom is directly above it, and both of those rooms were badly rain damaged due to a large hole in the roof that was left open for far too long. It was the first repair we made when we bought the house, but the damage required some serious structural repair. Since we are redoing the layout of the bathroom, the plumbing will be different. Tim got the idea that if the kitchen ceiling was dropped, the new plumbing could be run in the space beneath the floor joists, as could the ventilation from the stove hood. 

The contractor neighbor stopped in to jawjack, and thought that it was a very smart way to do it. The validation was nice to hear. 

In any case, that's what we've been up to today. 

I have a cold which seems to be turning into a sinus infection. Probably from dealing with 100 year old dust. 

A funny thing happened. Ms Moon was talking about chili crisp, which I'd never heard of. Yesterday, we had some errands to run. Supplies to pick up. We stopped in at Happs, just to see what they had, and much to my shock they had: 


Priced at 2 for $1. it was a deal too good to pass up, and man...that stuff is delicious. Excellent. Thanks, Mary! If I hadn't read your post, it would not have even caught my eye. I've had it two days running. I take a couple handfuls of cabbage and onion and garlic and whatever vegetables I might have and toss it in a skillet. I steam my vegetables in a bit of water, instead of stirfrying them in oil, and stir the chili sauce in. What a wonderful meal, with just the right bite!

Anyways, we put two boxes of good deals in the back of the truck and continued on to our Amish builder supply place, where you can save $2. each on 2x4s (and we needed a batch of them). We then circled around back to Jamestown to stop at Brigiottas, a large produce store. When we pick up produce from them, we always go out back to the warehouse. You can usually pick up a 40 lb box of bananas for $10, and we drop them off for a houseful of Amish monkeys we know. (Mattie says that 9 children will go through a box of bananas in less than a week.)

We got home and got everything put away and had our quiet supper. I took some tylenol PM and went to bed early. 

The last thing that I felt like doing was working on that house today, but I am glad that we were able to get so much done. We'll have the kitchen ceiling up this week, and most of the plumbing in. Everything is taking shape. Tim is curious to see what we can get done in a month. 

Right now, me and my sinuses are drinking a hot cup of very strong ginger root tea, and I will put myself to bed early again tonight. I haven't had a sinus flare up like this in a very long time, and I am grateful that I have a scheduled appointment this week. 

46 comments:

  1. the building projects never end. It's a good thing you move around and bump into special products you need.

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    1. The building project will end. For me at least. Not sure what Tim is going to do. We are working on our last rehab. Once we are done with that, I am finished.

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  2. I googled your Chili Crisp... and found it is available in WalMart.. who knew

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    1. It was not something that I would have bought but I'd read Mary's post on it.

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  3. I do hope you feel better soon Debby.
    'Tis the season for snot and sneezes!

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    1. Lots of both, Jaycee...along with a post nasal drip cough that sounds pretty disgusting. Bass the dissues, blease.

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  4. 100 year old dust sounds as if it's full of nasty things.
    Hope you feel better very quickly, have fun with the ceilings!

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    1. A lot of lathe and plaster. Even if you're wearing a mask, it tends to work its way in.

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  5. It probably is the 100 year old dust..mine have been complaining while sorting Pirate's thirty plus years of papers.....
    Good to see work progressing steadily.

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    1. I think that dust has a lot to do with it. There certainly is a lot of it.

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  6. I hope you feel better soon, Debby. Sinus infections are no fun.
    I looked up Chili Crisp - it is available here . . . at a price. Yours was certainly a bargain.

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    1. The secret of Happs is that they purchase food by the pallet from big grocery stores. This is food that is past the 'best by' date. If food is in cans or jars or in bulk, I always examine it. If the seal is good, or the can is not dented, I'll buy those. In this case, my chili crisp was dated July 2024. It's fine. So I bought it 2 for $1. I also bought some very fancy tomato sauce, one of the 'designer' sauces that I would never buy at full price. They 'expired' over the summer as well. They were priced at $1.29. I bought a dozen jars. Coffee is another purchase for me. I buy the vacuum packed stuff, bring it home and toss it in the freezer, and pull it out when I need it. They have meats and frozen foods. I would never buy things like that. People do though.

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  7. Sorry about your horrid cold - Tam and Rosie have had similar and now on Week 3 of it! Spicy Chilli Crisp sounds a good thing to have on hand.

    When I read about you buying a box of Bananas I thought, how on earth will those get eaten quickly - now I know!!

    Don't overdo things with the house repairs.

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    1. Not much goes to waste in that house! Teenage boys can put away food - and she's got three of them!

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  8. There are many ups and downs in life.

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    1. Yeah, yeah, don't rush me, man! We're getting to the floor... ;)

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  9. A good hot chilli or a curry will help. Even an hot whisky or three.

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    1. Oh believe me, I've been eating hot food, and I've been drinking ginger root, and it hasn't helped me at all. I will made a sad admission here, Dave. The taste of whisky makes me throw up. Totally not joking. It's something that I've never been able to tolerate since I was a young woman.

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  10. You found the deal of the century with that chili crisp! I'm so glad you like it.
    I really hope you're not getting a sinus infection but it sounds like you may be. Ancient dust related condition. Ugh. But good to know you have an appointment this week. If indeed it is, the sooner on antibiotics, the better. As you already know.

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    1. I've been using saline. Things do seem better today, and if I can just sleep tonight, it would be excellent.

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  11. Well, that sinus infection has been making the rounds even in S. Colorado ... I got up with it on the 19th and I had only been to get my hair cut the day before! No old dust here!! I've been taking the Severe Flu and Cold capsules (Equate and Kroger) and treating it like a bad cold! Evidently an antibiotic helps but I think I've gone past that, but still coughing and hacking ... So much snot 🤧 and phlegm 🤮!

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    1. Probably the best advice that I ever got, when it was a chronic thing was to use things that drain your head, not dry up your sinuses, which will only make things worse.

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  12. Ugh! Sorry about the sinuses. The dust probably doesn't help, it's true! Good thinking on the ceiling and glad you tried the chili crisp! I wonder if we can get it here in the UK? I don't think I've ever seen it, but maybe I just haven't been looking.

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    1. I will bet that you can. It seems like you have much more access to ethnic foods than we do.

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  13. You guys sure work a lot for two retired folks:)

    I want to try making the chili crisp for my daughter, the food blogger. I'm sure she'd like some homemade stuff.
    Sorry you're not feeling well. My husband has chronic sinusitis, from his smoking, and it leaves him run down and tired.
    Get well soon.

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    1. When I lived in Michigan, I had chronic sinusitis. It was from living in the Saginaw Valley Trench, I was told. I smoked for a while, as well, and the sinusitis continued to be a problem. I haven't had a bad bout in some time. (Neti Pot). I do believe it was the dust.

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  14. Pesty nurse suggests taking a covid test. It's making rounds again. Linda in Kansas

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    1. That did cross my mind, but the symptoms eased back when I started the saline. I don't think that would happen if it were covid.

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  15. Poor you - nothing worse than feeling a bit bleh and having to snort 100 year old ceiling dust!

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    1. or feeling bleh because I snorted 100 year old dust.

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  16. Chilli is always too powerful for me, as are most strong tastes.

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    1. I do like spicey foods. I hope you had a nice holiday at your house.

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  17. All your work puts me to shame... Ive done nothing but take it easy . Though I did ride my motorcycle today .. and come to think of it, I felled and cut up a medium sized tree the day I collapsed in France. So not entirely idle...

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    1. I imagine that if I spent days in a hospital in France, I'd be taking life a bit easier as well.

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  18. Now I will be keeping my eye out for Chili Crisp!

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    1. I still can't believe I found it!

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  19. I had never heard of it until I read Mary's post. I checked and it's available here for about $4. a jar. I may give it a whirl sometime.

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    1. I had not heard of it either. If I had not have read that post, I would have walked right on past the stuff without ever giving it a second glance.

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  20. I haven't heard of chili crisp but my wife does her vegetables much the same way though she adds aromatics and some fish sauce to them which sounds much like chili crisp. It certainly makes it nearly impossible to go back to eating plain boiled vegetables.

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    1. Fish sauce is one of those things on my 'to-get' list. Everyone says that it adds depth to the spices. I'm getting there. Interestingly enough, Tim is interested in the recipes too. He's been pretty much a meat and 'tater man all his life.

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  21. I was going to recommend the saline up your nose but I see in your replies that you are doing that. Hope it helps clean out the dust and snot!

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    1. Well, I had high hopes when I went to bed last night. I could, once again, breathe through my nose. However, I woke up in the night coughing and gagging. I took a hot shower at 3 am hoping that the steam would help. It did. A little. Today, I resorted to OTC drug. I need a full nights sleep. Maybe it will happen tonight.

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  22. I think I caught your bug. Stuffy head, sore throat, just feel achy and blah. Yuck. I am drinking something my granddaughter gave me called Umcka. It's supposed to be good for this yuck, and comes in day and night versions. It does seem to help. No fever, thank goodness.

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    1. Oh no! I hope it's not a computer bug!!!!

      I took coldeze, right away, but really, I think this started out as a cold and a mild one at that, but right now, it's totally sinus. I got some Mucinex today. I just need to get a full night's sleep. I think that will help a lot.

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  23. I hope your sinus issues are improving. They can be a bummer. Been there, done that.
    Thank you so much for your kind worlds about losing Eddie. He had a long history of triaditis and I think that and age did it. Triaditis is not uncommon in cats. It's an inflammatory bowel disease that goes into the pancreas and kidneys. He had to be on a prescription diet for a long time. He lost so much weight in the last few months. A sad Christmas, indeed.
    Anyway, hope you're feeling better and wishing you and your family the best year ever!
    Paranormal John

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  24. It is always a hard decision to make, even if it is the right decision. It's good to see you here.

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I'm glad you're here!

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