I smelled a corpse flower a few years ago in DC. Stinky for sure, and very dramatically huge.

Dammit. I had written out a whole long response on sarameg's project, and it got eaten. And I closed my links. Lemme sum up: EPA provides guidance on working with lead paint, which sarameg may have already seen - [link] (PSA for all - new EPA regs recently went into effect requiring contractors working on lead paint to be certified and to inform homeowners of certain info). Obviously, keep children, pets, and pregnant ladies away from the work. I think reusing dropcloths would risk creating lead dust. Overall, by choosing to refinish instead of replace, sarameg is "getting" a higher-quality wood than she would get new and averting all the waste (fuel, water, habitat destruction, power) involved in harvesting, shipping, and processing - by which I'm trying to say that no matter what dropcloth she uses, it's still a massive net win.

The only waste reduction strategy I can think of, and it's more closing the loop/choosing products carefully than reducing, would be to use a thick, recycled content plastic sheet and layer recycled paper over it - dispose of the paper daily but reuse the plastic. But I don't know how that would work, how available those types of materials are to you, sarameg, and whether it would cost significantly more.

Anyway. My two cents.

I can leave the house is MY NEW CAR!

Mobile home, msbelle?

oh sure mock the excited sleep-deprived ladies type-o. IN my new car IN IN IN. I will play the radio loudly and make vroom vroom noises as I pass people.

OK, I finally feel like I really work here. I saw multiple people I know in the cafeteria just now and came back to a voicemail! Possibly my second voicemail, but close enough.

My garage door open has been acting hinky lately. Takes a few tries to get the door to close regardless of if I'm using the remote or the wired button. I have had a nagging thought in my head to put in a maintenance order with property management, but I keep forgetting.

Last night property management called ME, asking if I was having problems with my garage door. Aparently someone in my building complained but didn't know which garage was making the extra noise, so they were calling the other 7 apartments to figure it out. I hope this means they replace the opener instead of just fixing it again. I swear it has been louder and less reliable since the coil broke and they "fixed" it a couple of months ago.

In other family news - KCD is officially living with his girlfriend now. Kelly met her last night and enjoyed her self much more than expected. Tonight we are all going out to dinner together - KCD, the gf, her son, another friend of theirs, CJ, Kelly, and me. Should be interesting.

A gothy animal LOL for Jilli--arachnaphobe-safe, no worries.

[link]

assuming she likes real bats, of course.

Somebody remind me that Michigan Ave is closing for the weekend due to the Transformers movie shoot starting tonight at 8pm, and that getting to work downtown tomorrow is going to be asstastic?

Yay for new house and new car!!!

khao soy

what is this?? I love those noodle thingies!

I am having an ongoing meltdown because there was flooding in the basement I discovered last night that we think came up through an unused utility sink. I'm sure it's some kind of root issue that's going to cost us $$$ to fix and I won't be able to ever get out of debt let alone feed people at our wedding and ARGH!!!

And I had a terrible yoga class yesterday that I had to leave for part of because I got so nauseous, which has never happened to me before. And then I woke up literally screaming in the middle of the night with a terrible cramp in my calf and it still hurts.

In conclusion, WAH WAH WAH!!!

I can leave the house is MY NEW CAR!

So where's the picture with you laying on the hood?

Khao Soy, the way I make it, is essentially a Thai chicken noodle soup. (There are many different variations, this is one my MiL got from a friend while they were living in Thailand.)

2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (to taste)
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 3-inch piece ginger, sliced thin
2 lbs boneless chicken, cut into thin strips
2 15 oz cans coconut milk (I usually use 1 regular and 1 lite)
16 oz thin egg noodles

for garnish:
crispy Chinese egg noodles (you can get these from a Chinese restaurant)
chopped cilantro
2 limes, cut into wedges
chopped scallions
fish sauce

Mix 1 cup coconut milk with 1/2 cup water. (This is coconut milk mix #1.) Mix remaining coconut milk with 6 cups water. (Coconut milk mix #2.)
In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of mix #1 and add the curry paste. Stir and fry, adding mix #1 by the tablespoon until the oil begins to release. Stir in curry powder and continue adding mix #1 by the tablespoon until it has all been added. Add chicken and ginger. Stir fry until the chicken no longer looks raw. Partially cover and simmer 30 minutes.
Skim any oil off the top of coconut milk mix #2. Pour half into chicken mixture, stir and heat. Add the remainder, stir and heat.
Cook the noodles in boiling water until soft. Drain.
To serve, first add noodles to soup bowls and pour chicken and broth over them. Top with garnishes.