Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

The revolution will be supervised.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

T R E 4 5 O N

Let’s finish the job.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

“woke” is the new caravan.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Bark louder, little dog.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

This really is a full service blog.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / This Week’s Project

This Week’s Project

by | 145 Comments

This post is in: 

So this week we (again, royal we) finished the walls on the basement stairs- a little mud on some walls, a sheet of drywall on another, then sanding, paint, and hanging corkboard, and now I have a place to hang my pots and pans.

That one board in between the shelf and the pots has got to go because it is making me dizzy and setting off my OCD it is so crooked. At any rate, it all looked like this to begin with (this is if you turn the corner and the pots and pans are to your left as you look down the stairs:

Now the problem is the door. I wanted to replace it with a folding door, but the problem is everything is so damned crooked that there is like a three inch gap on one side at the bottom. Because I do not have the loot, I am just putting up an accordion door for now. Once I seal off the basement at the bottom of the steps (which will be next year because I need to put all new steps in and that costs $$$), I am thinking maybe a saloon style door. So for now, a 25 dollar vinyl accordion door to keep the basement separated from the house.

At least now I have my stove and counters back.

Reader Interactions

145Comments

  8. 8.

    Corner Stone

    @John Cole: Ok, look. Let’s say I am standing there looking at your pots and pans. My right hand is on the stove range top surface. Is the sink and outside window 90 degrees to my right side? Does the range top sit flush with the counter tops now that it is settled against the backsplash? Do you have more than 20 inches between the far right edge of the range top and the counter top side the sink is on? What is on the left side counter as I face the pots on the corkboard with the range top on my right hand?

  11. 11.

    MomSense

    Here’s what I learned when I restored/renovated a 200 year old house. Once you finally finish all the projects, it will be time to start all over again..

  14. 14.

    ant

    Hey John, looking at your pots and pans I want to make a suggestion on a type of pan that I bought something like two years ago.

    It’s this one:
    https://importfood.com/item/thai-street-vendor-wok-14-inch
    You also need the curved spatula to use it:
    https://importfood.com/index.php?option=com_zoo&task=item&item_id=2938&Itemid=101

    This is my favorite pan. I don’t use a stand for it, I just set it on my gas burner. It heats up SOOOOO fast. It’s super light for tossing your noodles, or onions, or whatever. It cleans up in a jiffy using steal wool. I treat it just like my cast iron, except, it’s faster.

    You should buy it.

  15. 15.

    dmsilev

    @Corner Stone: This might help: “He had said that the geometry of the dream-place he saw was abnormal, non-Euclidean, and loathsomely redolent of spheres and dimensions apart from ours.”

  16. 16.

    Nicole

    Screw finding money for a folding door. Get a beaded curtain. My aunt and uncle had a beaded curtain in their basement and I thought it was the coolest, most elegant design choice EVER.

    I was six, but I feel that is beside the point.

  22. 22.

    geg6

    The tiles are beautiful. And get over expecting anything being plumb or level in that house. Nahguhappen. My ex and I rehabbed a hundred year old Georgian. Nothing was plumb or level. Nothing.

  23. 23.

    planetpundit

    Nicole’s idea is genius; Steve would LOVE a beaded curtain. Put one in your bedroom as well, John, then Steve can stay up all night.

  27. 27.

    Caphilldcne

    This is like the anti-hgtv of blogs. I would love to see Mr. Cole interacting with Christina El Moussa.

  30. 30.

    NotMax

    Take that valance from the kitchen window and staple it over the offending board.

    ;)

    Also see that G & T got there with the pegboard, not corkboard info. So with all the new cabinets, no room in them for the pans?

  31. 31.

    WaterGirl

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I saw the longer video, and I’m not so sure that he was doing that so much as trying to explain that she wasn’t just there as a prop. Of course, a normal human being who was saying that about the wife he KNEW was there, would have actually looked at her as he talked about how much she wanted to be there.

    So the jury’s out for me: is he senile or does he just lack normal human traits? Well, okay, I do think he’s senile, I just don’t know for sure whether this was an example of it or not.

    Edit: okay, I just watched it again. He really does look/sound different than when he talked about his vice president, who was also standing next to him.

  35. 35.

    Amy!

    I dunno if you’ll wanna hear this, but you can straighten out the door.

    If you buy pre-hung (with or without trim), you attach the door frame to the rough framing, and you shim it out as needed to get the catch plate absolutely vertical (first), and then on the hinge side to make the door swing and catch the plate precisely. What this might mean is a custom door (depending on the size of the rough framing, once you find vertical on both sides).

    I’d actually recommend a bi-valve door, there, with friction catches (basically spring-loaded hemispheres that catch in hemispherical depressions in matching plates) at the top. That means that it’s got hinges on both sides, and each half-door is half the width of the opening. You can put cabinet pulls on instead of doorknobs. I’ve got one for my downstairs bathroom (because the house has thirty-six inch doors everywhere on the first floor so that wheelchairs can pass, but a thirty-six inch slab in that location blocks entrance into the bathroom for a wheelchair whether it’s open or closed (it’s a weird location)). For your case, I’m not sure whether it would work best to open into the pan-try, or to open out, but based on the picture, I’m pretty sure it would work for you (I could send a picture if you want, but you can prolly visualize).

    Hanging pre-hung is kind of an acquired skill, but if I can acquire it, anybody can.

  37. 37.

    WaterGirl

    Trying to catch up on some shows before the new fall season starts. I am halfway through the first season of Queen Sugar, and I am liking it. Does anyone here watch Queen Sugar?

    After Queen Sugar, I have to decide between the last two seasons of The Americans, Frequency and the final season of Person of Interest. Yes, I really am that far behind on TV watching.

  39. 39.

    WaterGirl

    @gene108: I am also confused, but in my case it’s not Cole’s fault. I find it very hard to visualize based on still photos from various angles. I look forward to the video!

  43. 43.

    JPL

    @WaterGirl: I listened on and off to his rally for big Luther, and he seems really off. If Trump came across a doorway with beads, I’m not sure what would happen. just sayin

  44. 44.

    JPL

    @Amy!: It’s not that difficult. Even if Cole wanted to put the pegboard on the side with open bins for vegies or something he could change the door frame. Might not even need a door in that case.

  46. 46.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL: You are a better person than I am, I cannot listen to him or watch him speak for more than a few seconds at a time.

    Also, how can you tell when Trump is “off”. He is always off! Or perhaps more so than usual?

  48. 48.

    JPL

    @WaterGirl: He was reading on and off from a speech and then would ad lib in between. We went from kneeling at football games to Luther and then russia and no russians in audience to crooked Hillary and on and on and on. Nothing made sense. Sometimes he walked away from the podium.

  49. 49.

    dexwood

    Love you, John, but the pegboard does not work. In a garage, a workshop, or a basement it’s very functional and who gives a fuck what it looks like. Put it anywhere else in the house and it looks temporary and cheap.

  50. 50.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL: Sounds like stream of consciousness. Did you see the video of him kind of wondering on a stage, totally lost, not sure where to go or what to do? Someone here linked to the video in the past couple of days.

    I suspect he just keeps talking in the hopes that no one will notice that he has no idea where the hell he is or what the hell he is supposed to be doing. Then maybe he clicks back in for a bit, then his brain wanders off. Sad.

    The man is not well.

  51. 51.

    chris

    Heh.

    2020's Single-Payer! vs. Kaepernick Sucks! election is gonna be amazing— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 23, 2017

    It’s a piece of trim, John. Remove it, fix the wall and replace the piece.

  52. 52.

    Mnemosyne

    @NotMax:

    Many people prefer to hang their pans rather than stacking them inside the cabinet. They don’t get scratched up from being stacked, and it’s easier to find the one you need.

  54. 54.

    JPL

    @WaterGirl: He’d just take a dozen or more steps and open his arms. It took some time to realize that he was reading, and then not reading. He went on so long that some folks did leave.
    This was one of his lines

    “I could be sitting home right now watching some of the games, tomorrow.”

    Maybe he can tell us the winners and loser tonight also.

    edit He would read some of his speech and then he would talk about everyone who didn’t respect him.

  57. 57.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL:

    Maybe he can tell us the winners and loser tonight also.

    hahahahaha

    The man has no filter. When does the president have to have the physical that gets announced to the whole world. I find myself wondering if he might have a brain tumor. *On the medical TV shows, that happens sometimes, so I feel totally qualified to speculate.

  59. 59.

    Corner Stone

    Neera Tanden needs to be held in the same locked green room that Peggy Noonan gets put in. After noon ET? Do not put them on air.

  60. 60.

    Teddys Person

    @WaterGirl: I do. It’s one of my favorites right now. I think the acting and writing is terrific, and it’s beautifully filmed. It gets even better in the second season. The first half of the second season was on over the summer, and it continues in a couple of weeks.

  63. 63.

    Ohio Mom

    @dexwood: I beg to differ. Julia Child had pegboard in her kitchen and it looked fabulous. It was painted the same light blue-green as the cabinets (maybe John should paint his pegboard the same blue as the walls?).

    The crowning touch was the magic marker outlines she drew around each pot, pan, and gadget — so it could be put back in the exact same place.

    If you are ever in DC, the kitchen is on display in the Smithsonian.

  67. 67.

    Gravenstone

    @Ohio Mom:

    The crowning touch was the magic marker outlines she drew around each pot, pan, and gadget — so it could be put back in the exact same place.

    Fuck do I hate that 5S fuckery. I’d have hoped for better from Julia.

  68. 68.

    Mnemosyne

    @Ohio Mom:

    Looking at the photo again, I think I agree with you that the pegboard would look nicer if it matched the walls. John will probably have to live with it for a while before he decides, though.

  70. 70.

    magurakurin

    @Ohio Mom:

    maybe John should paint his pegboard the same blue as the walls?

    I thought the same thing. That setup looks convenient regardless of the color.

  71. 71.

    Major Major Major Major

    @chris:

    2020’s Single-Payer! vs. Kaepernick Sucks! election is gonna be amazing

    And us lonely folks who don’t particularly care about football and think ‘single payer’ is a distracting shibboleth get left in the lurch as always #nolabels #radicalcenter #martinwouldawon

  73. 73.

    WaterGirl

    @Major Major Major Major: Nothing terrible happened, just in a hard place, feeling kind of helpless and discouraged. i have really been struggling over the past couple weeks to come to grips with how much more ugliness there is in the world than I ever knew. On top of that I feel the weight of what people are going through in Puerto Rico and elsewhere.

    I’m sure I’ll come to terms with it and buck up soon, but damn, the last couple weeks have hit me hard. The ugliness is just relentless, and they are active on so many fronts all at the same time, chipping away at so much of what makes us who we are. Hope you’re not sorry you asked.

  74. 74.

    satby

    Well, now I think I may just put a peg board in the wasted space next to my refrigerator in the alcove, because figuring out where to put the extra pots when I want to cook is a pain.

    But I just gotta ask, why would you seal off the basement? Do you mean just with another door, or seal off like never use it?

  75. 75.

    Kay Eye

    Why do you need a door? The pots and pans look great hanging on the pegboard. Don’t hide them. A door will make that landing claustrophobic and you will fall down the stairs trying to navigate that small area.
    Unless you need to close out a cold and drafty basement from the rest of the house. Maybe a door could go right at the top of the stairs.

  76. 76.

    magurakurin

    @Corner Stone: I don’t know. He has a lot of pretty large pans. Hanging them seems to make sense to me. Stacking them in a shelf would be more of a pain in the ass than taking six steps from that stove to that pegboard in my estimation.

  79. 79.

    satby

    @WaterGirl: Don’t get discouraged. You always have us!
    I’ll shoot you an email tomorrow, right now I have to throw clothes in the dryer and head to bed. 4:30 is only 6 hours away!

  81. 81.

    magurakurin

    @WaterGirl: I was in a serious and long bout of depression about everything until this week. My oldest and dearest friend in the world passed last Thursday. I was devastated. But after the shock passed my depression left me. I think his sudden passing awakened me to the fact that I shouldn’t spend my remaining days in darkness. Obviously, events in the world still are troubling, but I’ve stopped bearing any personal burden. I hope you can move past your current sadness more easily. But know that others are going through similar feelings and understand it. Please take care of yourself and those around you.

  83. 83.

    Redshift

    For those who were around on Wednesday night, I did actually follow through on my plan to call undecided GOP senators in the middle of chemotherapy. Every one was too chickenshit to have staffers actually answer the phone, but I shamed them via voice mail.

    I came through the chemo with no major difficulties (fortunately I only have to have one treatment.) However, I have had hiccups nearly nonstop for 24 hours. Apparently it’s a side effect of the steroids they give you to prevent nausea.

  85. 85.

    Major Major Major Major

    @WaterGirl:

    Hope you’re not sorry you asked.

    Of course not, always happy to help somebody else share when they’re feeling this way–lord knows I’ve been known to do it too.

    Sometimes it’s all you can do to just get out of bed in the morning, and sometimes that’s good enough. Sounds like you’re not quite there, but even if you are, well, it gets better as they say. I try to get involved with arts or crafts myself, something creative. Even if it’s hard to find the energy to get going, once I’ve started it tends to be self-sustaining and nurturing. Just my two cents.

  87. 87.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    As a big fan of Person of Interest, I definitely recommend that. I will say that it was, uh, not entirely satisfying. But it is hard for any series to tie up all subplots/​loose ends and bring everything to a satisfactory conclusion. Maybe I was just sad because I liked the show and was sorry to see it end. But it’s definitely worth watching.

    A good ending to a series was Law and Order: Criminal Intent, the episode “To the Boy in the Blue Knit Cap.” Middling episode, but it wrapped up the Goren/​Eames saga in a very nice but not simplistic way. The last scene, with the two of them talking by their SUV on a quiet Manhattan street, was very satisfying and felt like real closure.

  88. 88.

    Lyrebird

    @WaterGirl: None o’ my business, but sending big-time good thoughts your way.

    It’s been a rough couple weeks. Given what others (e.g. PR, Aruba) have lost, I feel embarrassed to see how much energy it took outta me just keeping tabs on how our two (now totes okay) family branches in Fla. were doing.

    Myself, I am in a new job, well more like two, and my child’s slow adjustment to a new school situation feels like another job that I’m not doing well enough at. So I don’t know if any of this blather is comforting, but I’m gonna hit send or whatever.

    Also, OT but hey folks, I’m concerned for Mr. Kaepernick tonight after the Republican demagogue’s remarks, and I am wishing him safety and enough peace to live his life.

  89. 89.

    dexwood

    @magurakurin:
    You have my sympathy. I lost my best friend on the 9th, a guy I met nearly 43 years ago when we were young men. A truly good and generous man. Fuck cancer.

  93. 93.

    WaterGirl

    @Redshift: I’m glad your one big blast is over! Any idea of how long they expect you to feel any effects from it?

    As a child, I got hiccups a lot, and it felt like my whole chest was involved. One time when I was 5 or 6 I hiccuped so loud in church that the priest stopped his sermon and just glared at me. Like I could control my hiccups. Bastard!

  95. 95.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: I loved Person of Interest; I think maybe I have been putting it off because I didn’t want it to end. Do the good guys win?

    It’s funny, I watched Criminal Intent but I don’t recall the ending. Mostly I recall the endings that were not satisfying at all, like LOST. That ending was so bad that I decided to just pretend that I had never seen the final 20 minutes and just “wrote”my own ending in my mind.

  97. 97.

    Nicole

    @A Ghost to Most:

    Not much protection from the stairs, and we are talking about John.

    True, but the beads make a really soothing sound as they swing back and forth after you fall through them.

  98. 98.

    JPL

    @Redshift: It’s probably a gimmick, but I used to let a tsp of sugar dissolve on tongue slowly. So glad that you are almost through with the regimen though.

  99. 99.

    Redshift

    @WaterGirl:

    Any idea of how long they expect you to feel any effects from it?

    Most of the immediate effects (including the steroid-hiccups) should be out of my system in a few days. The immune system hit peaks in about three weeks, and it’s not uncommon to feel pretty rotten again then. Other side effects could develop over that time, but with one treatment, they’re pretty unlikely.

    And fuck cancer. I know I got off really lucky.

  100. 100.

    WaterGirl

    @Lyrebird: Yikes, new jobs are hard and one of the things I don’t handle well is when I have two really important things i need to be doing and cannot be doing both of them at the same time. Sounds like you and your son have something in common, though, being in totally new environments, so maybe that will bring you together and help both of you.

    What happened with Kaepernick? I saw another reference to him upthread, but no details.

  103. 103.

    Redshift

    @JPL: I’ve tried various things that usually work for me (in fact, I can usually just will hiccups to stop after one or two.) They mostly work, but then they start up again after ten to thirty minutes, probably because they’re drug-induced.

    One good thing is what while I’m recommended to avoid spicy foods and fried foods for a few days, I’m under doctor’s orders not to miss any meals and eat plenty of carbs. That, I can handle!

  105. 105.

    WaterGirl

    @Teddys Person: Un-fucking believable. This man has no business being president. I went from shocked to embarrassed to humiliated to ashamed. How is it possible to elect a man like this in America? (rhetorical question)

  107. 107.

    Steeplejack

    @Corner Stone:

    Lord, I miss Luby’s! I don’t know how it is now, but 50 years ago (goddamn!) it was appointment dining at the North Star Mall when we traveled to San Antonio every month or so for my orthodontist’s appointments. That and Mr. Dunberbak’s Bavarian Pantry. Excellent pastrami on pumpernickel sandwich. In retrospect, I realize it was just a pretty good deli type place, but, hey, that was the food desert of the 1960s. But Luby’s! That was good eats.

  109. 109.

    Steeplejack

    @satby:

    [. . .] why would you seal off the basement?

    Remembering the (few) places I lived that had a basement, I would guess it’s to block off the cold coming up from a typically unfinished or semi-finished basement.

    ETA: I mean “seal” as a door, not “seal” as hermetically.

  110. 110.

    Teddys Person

    @JPL: I honestly have a hard time wrapping my head around the horribleness that is Dolt45. He’s a toxic cocktail of privilege, willful stupidity, racism, hatred, and mental illness.

  112. 112.

    WaterGirl

    @Teddys Person: Thanks for that. With Trump as president, t’s like we are living in a nightmare bizzaro world. I am fairly certain that a 7-year-old could be president for a day and be more presidential than this piece of shit.

  113. 113.

    Lyrebird

    @WaterGirl:
    Hey, thanks!

    For the generous thoughts and for stating this…

    …when I have two really important things i need to be doing and cannot be doing both of them at the same time.

    And the more I can say out loud, “Mommy’s frustrated because she wants to do this and do that..” vs just stewing, the more I help the kiddo. And major props to the kid, too, who can of course be infuriating (a kid’s job I guess), but who has been showing big-time bravery for a shy little one, going from “no I will not like this ever” to “I have two new friends!” even before we got to October.

    Okay I better go sleep

    Peace all!

    ETA: I hate looking after 7-yr-olds (we’re not there yet fortunately), and I can assure you that all the ones I’ve every babysat showed more restraint and less pettiness than this monstrous president*.

  118. 118.

    Origuy

    I had my electrical panel replaced this week. I have a townhouse that’s only 33 years old, but they were doing things on the cheap in the 80s in San Jose. They used a panel with an aluminum lug, which is no longer allowed by the code, and my neighbors and I have had some arcing. The panel was also installed in a bathroom, again not to code. They cut a hole in the other side of the wall and put in a new panel. That way they didn’t have to move the wiring. Because they found some signs of burning around the lug, which is where the wires meet the panel, and because there are code violations, they claim my homeowners insurance will cover it. I hope so, since it cost $4500. They still have to send someone out to patch the hole in the bathroom wall, and of course the inspector.

  119. 119.

    JPL

    @WaterGirl: Someone asked what I thought about Trump, and I spit out that I thought he was a narcissistic racist pig The person said oh. Now next time I’m asked I’m going to say he’s a narcissistic racist dotard pig.
    btw I knew the person didn’t vote for him, but the reaction was still priceless.

  120. 120.

    WaterGirl

    @rikyrah: Me, too. Though Charley pisses me off sometimes! Pretty sure that she and I would butt heads and that eventually I would be shouting something resembling “you’re not the boss of me!”

    The characters are more complex than we often see on TV, and feel more like real people with great qualities and flaws who are in situations that are complicated and everything isn’t black and white, but shades of gray.

    Where I’m at right now: preparations for the storm, which moved from tropical storm to category 1 to category 2 in a very short period of time. I wold be interested to hear whether that is being portrayed in a fairly realistic fashion.

  121. 121.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    Do the good guys win?

    No spoilers from me!

    Re Criminal Intent: It was an episodic series, not one that would lend itself to a grand “ending.” But it did wind things down in a good way. Goren (Vincente D’Onofrio), who had been increasingly embattled with odium from the department brass, suspension, rage issues and mandated counseling, got out from under all that (somewhat), and you could see a good but realistic road ahead. Still battling his demons, but, hey, ongoing counseling with Julia Ormond! Ditto for Eames (Kathryn Erbe), who had been fighting her own battles as the partner of the guy that everybody hated.

    The last scene is Goren coming out of the psychologist’s brownstone on a tree-lined street, and Eames is there with the black SUV. She asks him how it went, and he indicates everything is squared away (“sort of” strongly implied). She says that a call came in about a high-profile murder, and maybe they can get to the scene and look around before the feds get there. He says yeah, and then they just sit there in the car for a moment or two. Then the SUV pulls away down the street. Good ending.

  122. 122.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL: That’s very similar to my response when I am asked, except that I include “fucking” in there somewhere, possibly precede by the word total. Your comment makes me want to look up the description Cole used for Trump at some point in the past two weeks. It was the most awesome set of words that described Trump perfectly.

    P.S. I think it was Cole.

  123. 123.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: Your description of the ending made me smile.

    As for Person of Interest, I will hit you up to talk about the final season after I have watched it.

  125. 125.

    Teddys Person

    @WaterGirl: I love the chemistry between all the characters. Charley pisses me off
    too but her family and friend do call her out on it in very loving ways. Just a great family drama.

  126. 126.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL: Note to self: GA would not be a good fit for me. :-)

    @Teddys Person: It’s interesting to watch the family dynamics.

    I was SO pissed when Charley made the workers stay even though it put them in danger because the hurricane was coming. Her arrogance pisses me off, as does her sense of privilege. P.S. If you are ever going to “borrow” 10k from me, please let me know in advance.

  128. 128.

    Fair Economist

    @magurakurin:

    He has a lot of pretty large pans. Hanging them seems to make sense to me. Stacking them in a shelf would be more of a pain in the ass than taking six steps from that stove to that pegboard in my estimation.

    Amen to that. My mom has a huge drawer full of her many pans and a shelf with her many pots stored nested, with the lids nested separately. In the time it takes to root through her pans or pots, I can walk the length of her house, and it’s one of those big long stretched-out condos.

    I just leave the ones I use frequently on the stove. Occasionally I have to swap with one in a cabinet, but only one day in 10 or so, so it’s a negligible problem. I have one of these trendy open space houses, so there’s no wall space for a pegboard.

  130. 130.

    toocanAnj

    @WaterGirl: I watch Queen Sugar. It is a beautifully shot series. I’d watch it just for that, fortunately, I have also fallen in love with most of the characters so I watch it for them, and revel in the quality. Usually black twitter is on fire during the shows too, so that is a huge bonus too.

  137. 137.

    CaseyL

    Thanks for explaining one faces left toward the basement steps! Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to figure out the closet/staircase thing either. I think I’d have gone for hooks to hang the pans, though, rather than a pegboard. Copper hooks, on copper strips. Three across, with the pans hanging sorted by size.

    I’ve been more or less a wreck since Nov 8. I panicked after the election and took a new job I shouldn’t have taken (I work for a university, and wanted to work in a department I was pretty sure would never be defunded). The new job isn’t working out and is driving me crazy, really and truly, so I’m about halfway through a long FMLA leave. Taking new anti-anxiety meds, and they’re not yet doing the job very well. Between ongoing rage at Dolt 45 and the GOP, and melancholy over the job situation, I’ve been about as energetic as a bump on a log for the past month, sinking into a slough of despond.

    On the good side, though, I have bestirred enough to clean out the spare room and am setting up an art studio there to do fused glass. That I’m pretty excited about.

  141. 141.

    Ohio Mom

    @Gravenstone: The reason usually given for Julia Child drawing outlines of the pots and pans on her peg board in magic marker is that “there were many others working in her kichen,” and that way her organization was maintained.

    I think “many others” must be a euphemism for human pot washers. I doubt she did her own dishes after each episode’s filming was complete.

  142. 142.

    raptusregailter

    Good Lord! That shot down the stairs reminded me of when Clarice Starling was descending into Jame Gumb’s basement. I would ask if John was also digging a pit for the occasional unlucky hitchhiker, but we all know that manual labor is usually his nemesis.

  143. 143.

    TomatoQueen

    @Ohio Mom: Someone was employed to clean all those exposed gadgets weekly. It was a huge and crookedy space, with the main part viewable in most of the shows, then a butler’s pantry behind and to the slight left, and a piece behind that–all with the pegboard. The earlier shows were lit and directed mostly by Paul, but as time and success went on, there was a full staff climbing over each other and preparing the dishes to various stages, which takes up a lot of equipment at once, especially when dishes have to be kept ready for filming. The pegboard style, though, may have been a transplant from their time in France, as the early pics show both the places in Marseille and Pitchoune with pegboard and pans and tools above the prep and cooking areas–no cabinets available as far as I could see at least in the few Marseille pics. It’s a choice between organization and grime and I don’t think anyone wins.

  144. 144.

    Ohio Mom

    @TomatoQueen: Thanks for that much more detailed look — I hadn’t put that much thought into it but you drew a good picture of what organized chaos it must have been.

    I was never a big Child follower but we saw her kitchen, along with a small exhibit about her, this summer in DC. My (then) 19 year old suddenly understood all the various spoofs he’d been seeing his whole life, starting with Seasame Street’s Swedish Chef. It was fun to see his face light up.

  145. 145.

    Mart

    Are you OK with exit egress from the basement? Does the local code allow one way out, or is there another means to exit?

Comments are closed.