FIOS, food and bathroom humor

So what’s new out there? I am working from home today because Verizon is drilling holes in our ceilings. Aparrently this is a Regional Emergency, because the whole complex needs to be home to let these guys in. At the last owners’ meeting, they let us know that the town technically hasn’t approved Verizon FIOS yet, but it will soon be here. The crowd seemed really excited to get this for some reason. I have seen the Verizon employees taking their thrice hourly cigarette breaks outside the downtown building and I don’t know if I want those people even sitting in the car next to me, much less maintaining my phone, internet and television connections. I am sure the Charter people are just as lazy looking, but my interactions with them have been satisfactory. The rest of the complex is waiting with pitchforks and torches to run them out of town. I’ve heard more than a few horror stories about Verizon from some smart, competent people, so this looks to be a toss-up. I can’t imagine what these people are downloading that is taking so long that they think they need a fiber optic connection (or whatever snake oil Verizon is selling). So I’m home, waiting for the guy to show. They’re already destroyed most of the landscaping that M and I liked when we bought the place. I can’t wait to not use the multi room DVR and not watch Lost reruns in every single room in our condo. Here’s a pic of what the Ditch Witch did to the yard. It wasn’t beautiful to begin with, but it had started to recover from the french drain install.

I have an update on the Fathers’ day cookout extraordinaire. M and I made 5 side dishes to go with the ribs and chicken – Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad, Tomato and Mozarella, Orzo and Cucumbers with a ginger-lime dressing. The names don’t really do the food justice. It was definitley not school fundraiser picnic fare. The ‘tater salad started with the cooked potatoes drizzled pickle juice and mustard that was left to cool before adding the mayo and extras. This gave them a little something extra. The Orzo and the Cucumbers were the boldest and most popular sides. I think it was the toasted pine nuts in the Orzo and the fresh ginger in the cukes that put them over the top. They’re definitely on the list for a sequel. The meats were a total success. I woke up at 5:30 to get the grill going. I stole a load of black walnut logs from the parental farm and supplemented them with some hickory chunks I had. The ribs got a brine and a rub while the fire got hot. At 7am the skies opened up and I though the rain would make the grill too cold to cook, but the Char-Griller stood tall. After 5 hours, I flipped the ribs and started the chicken, which had been brining for a couple of hours. The chicken got a jerk rub and smoked for about 2 hours while the ribs finished. Remembering the last chicken fire, I had raised the coal bed in the smoke chamber so that it would diffuse the heat a little better. This worked a little too well, because the bird was sufficiently smoked but lacked the caramelization I remembered. So I lowered the pan to let some fire in for the last 30 minutes and sure enough, we had another conflagration. There’s something in the fire or smoke that really brings out the extra flavor. I think a grease fire is necessary from now on. Here are some pics of the meat portion of our meal.

Last, but certainly not least, we have begun demolition for the bathroom renovation. After we got back from my cousin G's wedding in scenic Scranton, PA, I jumped back in the car to get some supplies for removing the tile back and sidesplash the previous owners left for us. I had done a ton of research about removing tile and what was the best way to accomplish this. For the most part, it depends on how the tile itself is adhered to thewall. If the tile is stuck directly to the sheetrock, the best idea is to cut the wall out and patch it, since any removal will cause so much damage that a repair of the existing wallboard is inefficient. The second scenario I read about would be a wall mounting on cement board, which is sturdier than the sheetrock option, but also much more difficult to remove. Of course, our wall is C) None of the above. I took out my Dremel and ground out some of the grout on a single tile to see what we were dealing with and it turns out we had the tiles mounted on plaster that was backed with wallboard. The tiles came off with no problem, but they took the plaster with them. Again, not an issue, except that the surrounding wallboard is also covered in plaster and where the tile was is now 1/16th inch recessed from the rest of the wall. The wallboard is in perfect condition, but since the rest of the wall is raised, I now need to build this up and smooth it out so that it looks like a regular wall. Not the worst case, but not what I expected, either. So repairing the wall is what we have on tap for the next few days. I also need to get a special square drillbit to remove the countertop from the vanity cabinet. I haven’t done much cabinet hanging ever, but I don’t know what advantage a square bit has over a normal one. Here’s how the bathroom looks without the tile on the wall.