Hi There,

Well, projects abound at Holly's House.  I think Spring does this to us.  Or maybe it's the nice weather...
Who knows...I guess I'm just looking for someone to blame beside ourselves for buying a 'fixer-upper'.  Here are a few highlights!  

 
In the Yard:

We have needed to prune our huge sycamore tree since we moved in.

 And after a few calls to local arborists and receiving $800-$1500 quotes (ack!), Steve decided to take matters into his own hands.  I tend to think that there are reasons why you pay people to climb 65ft trees and properly trim them, but Steve thinks otherwise.  He did a few hours of online research, enlisted a co-worker to help, purchased a chainsaw attachment for his weedwacker, and considered himself a-okay for the job.

This is our "halfway done" shot:

Okay...so there's not much noticeable difference, but there is only so much that two guys and one ladder can reach in one Saturday.  Also, as you can see from the skeleton tree, it was topped a long time ago (don't get me started on how much I HATE that!....) and will never be a healthy tree again.  *sigh*

 That's what our yard looked like.  Again, this picture was taken halfway through the day...  Today, Steve cut all the branches up and organized them in three different piles:  Small, Medium, and Large.  This is VERY Steve.  I sure love this guy.  The Large branches and logs went next door to our new neighbors to use in their woodstove.  The Small and Medium branches are going to my parents property where we will have a bonfire!! (Hi Mom, can we bring our branches over to burn on your property?)   

The main thing was to get much of the dead branches that were caught in the tree and thin out the canopy close to the house.
I'd say mission accomplished for the year.....maybe next year we will rent a boom-truck!!!

The House:

I thought I'd use this week to post the official "Before" picture of our bathroom.  We tend to deal with projects around the house as they become a true necessity.  Our bathroom looks nice on the surface...

However, we have a number of problems:
-a leak under the tub.
-mold behind the shower surround.  Ick.
-ants that are attracted to the mold and water behind the shower surround.
-an improperly installed linoleum floor with some water damage.  

Sooooo.....we are going to DIY the heck out of this room. 
Updates are to follow. 


The Kitchen: 

I make French bread a lot because it is sooo satisfying and sooo easy with a bread machine.  I must confess that I have yet to attempt breadmaking without one of those GREAT machines. 

1.  On Friday night, I used the "dough" setting on machine.  In the morning, I pulled it out, coated with a little olive oil and placed in a covered bowl to rise.  After a few piano lessons, this is what it looked like.  You can see an indentation remains when pressed. 

  2.  I pulled the dough out of the bowl and rolled to a 1/4" thick on a floured surface.  I know some people don't believe in using a rolling pin, but I do.  *smile*

 3.  I use a knife to cut the dough into two somewhat equal parts. 

 4. Roll them up, starting with the outer edges. 

5.  Place on a cookie sheet and make a few slashes with a knife.  Personally, this is my FAVORITE step!  Fancy Shmancy!  I should have greased the sheet or used parchment paper....I forgot. 

6.  Cover, let rise for a half hour or so...then brush with an egg yolk.  Pretty!

7.  Bake and YUM!!  (*you can see that I was careful with the egg wash because I was afraid of gluing the bread to the pan...)

Well, that's it for my weekly update.  I'm looking forward to the first full week of spring! 
Bye!