Project Renovation: Big Reveal: Kitchen!

If you know me or have been following this blog, you know that my house has been consuming most of my life for the past year-and-a-half. {gulp} From the moment I put an offer on it, my life has been a constant roller-coaster of events. I closed on my house the day before Thanksgiving and my contractor started demo the following Monday. A project that he said would take 3 months. "We'll have you moving in here before St. Patrick's Day!" he said. Yeah. Right. I may have gone out of town in a series of crazy, once-in-a-lifetime crazy-to-pass-up type trips: a month in Africa, a week in Hawaii, and 10 days in Cuba. That January through March was just insane. Amazingly awesome, but insane. Mental note for any of you thinking about buying and/or renovating a house. Do NOT go out of town until the process is over.

So, anyway - here is the before of my cute, but awkward kitchen with virtually no counter space.

*cue the drumroll*

I present.... my kitchen!! *ta-daaa* {audience ooh-ing and ahh-ing}

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Monthly Obsession: Navajo rugs/blankets

This issue of Monthly Obsession is brought to you by Navajo rugs in all their fabulous geometric glory.

As I continue to furnish & decorate my home, I've become increasingly obsessed with Navajo textiles. I mean, come on. They're just incredible. Geometric, colorful (usually) so bold and graphic. I'm just sad that my pocketbook can't afford most of the really unique vintage ones! Sigh. Traditionally, they are hand loomed by women and take a really long time to create, hence the hefty price tag. Mostly the readily available vintage ones were made around the 1930-1960's. You can find ones from as far back as the mid 1800's! If you're into this style, there are also really amazing Navajo Chief's blankets with really bold stripes and patterns. Horse/Saddle blankets are another, smaller size option. Luckily for those of us who can't spend a bundle on the vintage originals, there are more affordable rug makers that are jumping onto the geometric bandwagon. Here's a few of my recent new and vintage favorites:
Above rug: 1930's Eye Dazzler.

Below, clockwise from top: 1940's Carpet; 1880's Germantown Eyedazzler; Two Grey Hills Runner; Rug; Surya "Frontier"; New Moon "Mesa" collection; 1930's Teec Nos Pos rug.
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Project Honey Bee: Harvesting Honey

When it comes to beekeeping, Mom and I are nowhere near professionals. We have just read, watched & researched a lot (Mom more than I, of course. She's a good researcher). The cool thing is, that we have a living, breathing hive to examine & practice on. We go out to the hive, pull it apart, look around & see what needs doing. Even when you're a novice, some of it comes down to trial & error, and gut feeling. Mom will call me up, "We need to check on the bees this weekend". Okay. One, two, three, go. 

Cool bee fact #237: The vast majority of bees in a hive are female. Females do all the work. The male bees {called drones} sit around getting fat - literally getting fed from female workers - waiting to fly off and mate with a queen. Cue women feminist ranting & males everywhere chortling...

When the ladies start filling up the hive with tons 'o extra honey {usually about mid-summer}, it's time to harvest it. One thing about bees is that you always have to give them something to do, otherwise, the hive will get too crowded and they'll leave for bigger/better digs. So, when there is lots of extra honey {stored in a different area than the larvae & food area}, you get to take some for yourself. Then, when there are areas of the hive that are empty, they'll feel the need to fill it up with something {usually, more honey surplus}.

So, our ladies had a nice bunch of surplus honey that we were able to harvest. We cut out chunks and put them in a bucket. Most professional beekeepers have these really awesome centrifuges that are specifically made for extracting honey from the comb. We didn't have anything like that. Some people suggest just cutting the comb into little chunks and letting gravity do all the work. We weren't that patient. So, what's the closest thing to a household-grade centrifuge? A salad spinner, of course!

We'd add a few chunks at a time, spinning slowly - the spinner would stop when the bottom would fill enough to make the basket catch. Then, we'd add it to sterilized jars.... slow going, but super effective. Voilà! Our very own honey! Wee! So exciting. And, it tastes absolutely fantastically delicious. Who wants homemade honey and biscuits?!?! Yes, please!

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