Steve, the heartbreaker...

I don't plan on making a habit of multiple blog posts on the same day, but something happened this evening after I made my previous post that I thought was amusing.

Steve and I were watching TV when we heard a creak that sounded like our gate. Being how downtown is sometimes, we exchanged slightly worried glances as we heard footsteps on our porch. Steve answered the knock at the door, and found two young (probably early twenties) women standing there.

I heard them address Steve by name. Undergrads from work? I wondered to myself from the couch. Then I heard them add that they were from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and I tried to not laugh.

Mormons apparently have "records." I'm not sure what they entail exactly, but I knew that Steve's records were transferred to Sacramento when his parents moved. Steve's mom mentioned a couple months back that his records were going to be transferred to Santa Cruz. When I asked Steve why records still existed on him at all since he hasn't gone to church in something like twelve years, he kinda shrugged and we let it go. Hope springs eternal in the faith community, I suppose.

I suspect due to the fact that we weren't married in the mormon church, Steve's records did not reflect that he was married, so it turns out we were being visited by two young women from the local singles branch. When I wandered up behind Steve and he introduced me as his wife, they looked quite crestfallen. Apparently the singles branch in Santa Cruz is only 30 people or so, so I'm sure they were hoping for new blood. And Steve is pretty cute. Sadly for them, I got my claws in him first.

As he tends to do, Steve happily chatted away at the girls until I interrupted him and ushered the visitors out. I don't want to give them hope that they've found new members just because Steve is the friendly sort. That and I suppose I'm just basically unfriendly so I wanted the strange people to leave.

Steve is happily munching on the cookies they left. He (only somewhat jokingly) requested ginger snaps next time. I personally feel guilty accepting gifts from them, but I suppose it would have been more rude to turn them and their baked goods away. I have vetoed Steve's idea to get missionaries to complete our crawlspace insulating project. Cookies are one thing...

Faux Ceviche is the Best Ceviche

Because clearly I am not giving Steve enough projects around the house to keep him occupied, he decided to try a recipe he got out of Sunset magazine. It's not actually ceviche, since the shrimp is precooked, but it's the same basic idea... shrimp, lime juice, cucumber, avocado, red onion, tomato, anaheim pepper (to keep things mild for Lisa) and a dash of oregano with feta cheese as a garnish. In a word... awesome! And I don't use that word lightly.

Steve measures the oregano:

Steve heats up tortillas behind the perfectly normal kitchen miter saw:

Finished product:

I feel that I should editorialize more... but I have furniture to move, so I must be off. Just wanted to brag about my dinner, I guess. 

Insulation Migrates Below

Because insulating the attic was so much fun, Steve and I began insulating under the house today. We started under the bathroom.

While laying the tile in our bathroom last summer, we installed an electric heating mat underneath the tile. It makes the floor feel wonderful underfoot in the morning and helps keep the ever-present Santa Cruz dampness at bay. Installing the insulation beneath the bathroom floor should allow to heating mat to work less to hold its temperature... which will hopefully save us money and extend the life of the heating mat.

Steve at work in the crawlspace (which we are fortunate is fairly spacious compared to many modern homes):

Completed section:

Insulating the rest of the floor will probably not happen for awhile, but we're pleased that we at least got the bathroom section done.

We also started cleaning up the backyard, hanging some pictures in the kitchen and moving furniture around. New pictures of the interior of the house should be coming soon.

Attic Project Phase 1 Complete

The first thing I get asked when I talk about the attic project progress is "does the house feel any warmer?" The answer is... no. Hopefully our energy bills will be lower, but the real aim of this endeavor was to create storage space. It seemed like a good plan to remove the old loose-fill insulation that was matted down and harboring rodent and termite leavings from long-ago infestations while we're at it.

Steve fits plywood to the last part of the living room section:

View of the new insulation (that I put down, lest it be believed that I don't ever do anything) before it got covered over:

New tool storage over the bedroom section (sorting and organization in progress):

Finished floor over the living room section:

In the spirit that no project is ever actually complete, the unstarted kitchen section:

Christmas Wrap-Up

We had an excellent Christmas this year. We spent about a week in Southern California with my family and were able squeeze in some wonderful visits with friends Scott, Melissa, Eric and Gail. We discovered wonderful new sushi, burger and pizza places along the way. Good stuff.

We were also able to visit Steve's brother Philip, our sister-in-law Jenny and their two boys. Steve and Philip helped our nephew Gavin try out a grow-your-own crystal kit. Our nephew Colin grabbed me by the hand pretty soon after clearing the front door so I would come and observe their awesome new marbleworks set-up. Like us, Philip and Jenny bought a house last year, so it's always fun to talk (and complain) about house projects.

A rundown of Christmas food, preparations and celebrations with my family...

Food Traditions

Steve and I make olive sandwiches with my mom's impressive Christmas village in the background:

The olive sandwiches are a slurry of cheese, olives and green onions scooped into hollowed-out french rolls. They're one of my absolute favorite foods. Steve and I made batches to leave with my parents and for my brother to take home (as well as keeping some for ourselves, of course).

Steve plates my favorite appetizer (cream cheese mixed with mild green chilies, served on crackers) for my Grandma:

Close up of said appetizer:

Preparations and Celebrations

Dad, Mom and I decorate the tree at my parents' house:

Grandma, Mom and I relax by the fire at my Grandparents' house after Christmas Eve service:

My dad (Steve and my brother looking on) opens his Christmas Eve gift (of pajamas):

My brother assembles a small Lego truck kit he got in his Christmas stocking on Christmas Day:

No matter how old you get, there's really no Christmas without Legos.

Steve and I relax by the fire on Christmas day:

And finally, Steve tends the fire... with flair:

That's what I get for warning him before I take the picture.

We returned to Santa Cruz to drop off the bunnies at home before heading up to Sacramento to have lunch with friends Jack and Amanda. We were also able to spend an evening with Steve's parents along with Steve's brother Edward & family and Steve's sister Natalie & family.

Apparently Jack and Amanda hadn't gotten enough of us over lunch, so they drove through Santa Cruz on their way back to Arizona and spent the night.

It's always a bit of a let-down to be back at work, but at least we had a great break.