what are you doing at home?

[crusinbanjo]

Since we can't be cruising, I thought it might be interesting to see what others are doing with all the free time at home!  So I'll start it off.

First I have been playing the banjo, (as my handle suggests), putting together a solo act for the Nursing home circuit.  When they reopen I'll be ready to entertain them with new material.

Second, I'm building and fixing up around the house.  Mrs Banjo wanted some new plant stands and new crown moldings in the study.  Finally, when the Governor extended the Stay at Home I decided to remodel my home office  space, New paint, new floors, Same old furniture!.  Her are a few pics, Hope everybody enjoys them 

[milepig]

Working. I’m on Zoom for 10 hours most days. 

[Tothesunset]

Trying to get our old labrador to accept our new one. 

 

A rare moment of tranquillity! 

[TLCOhio]

3 hours ago, crusinbanjo said:

I'm building and fixing up around the house.  Mrs Banjo wanted some new plant stands and new crown moldings in the study.  Finally, when the Governor extended the Stay at Home I decided to remodel my home office  space, New paint, new floors, Same old furniture!.  Her are a few pics, Hope everybody enjoys them 

 

Super impressive plant stand.  Looks as if you are a real pro for doing skilled wordworking.  Show us some home office pictures.  Yes, I would enjoy seeing more.  Am partly working, plus doing things around home, staying up on "current events", posting on the CC Boards, etc.  So far, avoiding getting in too much trouble with my wife, etc. Still have pictures and details from our February and early March 2020 New Zealand-South Pacific adventure to post here on these boards.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

[crusinbanjo]

6 minutes ago, TLCOhio said:

 

Super impressive plant stand.  Looks as if you are a real pro for doing skilled wordworking.  Show us some home office pictures.  Yes, I would enjoy seeing more.  Am partly working, plus doing things around home, staying up on "current events", posting on the CC Boards, etc.  So far, avoiding getting in too much trouble with my wife, etc. Still have pictures and details from our February and early March 2020 New Zealand-South Pacific adventure to post here on these boards.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Thanks Terry I built 3 of these plant stands. Here is one of the others, I built this one for this Vase that I purchased some years ago on a SS cruise in the Greek Islands.  It brings many treasured memories of cruising.  

I'll post pictures of the office in a couple of days.  It is torn apart right now, by Wed it will have finished paint and a new floor.  I'll post progress photos and complete. 

[crusinbanjo]

Here is the study.  I painted and installed cabinets a few months ago, last week I put up the crown / dental moldings.  Also my office, as it looks today.  Floors torn up, walls and ceiling painted..... more to follow on that in a few days

[Lois R]

To be honest, I am still recovering from a week in the hospital..….I am basically watching ALOT of television

and did laundry today, changed the linens, etc......who knew how much that can tire a girl out?  I had a follow

up Dr appt and then had to go for updated labs...…..waiting for those results.

 

I have gone to the grocery store multiple times because I am changing all my eating habits and now can be home

without having to go to the store for a couple of more weeks. 

I would say reading some as well but mostly watching tv and napping...……..pretty boring.

[jpalbny]

Nice work with the plant stands, cruisinbanjo! And that vase is really pretty.

 

We've been working from home (Chris FT, me 2 out of 3 weeks), which shaves about an hour off our routine in the morning, and frees up some time in the afternoon as well. Our work outfits are basically sweats and a T-shirt. So the laundry has been easy, and getting dressed in the morning takes about 2 minutes. We don't have to wake up at 5AM, which is super.

 

So we've been cooking more and eating too much, and drinking too much wine, much like we do on a Silversea cruise... Oh, we're also trying a bunch of different gins just to make sure we are keeping our livers in tip-top shape.

 

But we've had more time to exercise so it's probably been a wash in terms of weight gain. We take a walk outside every morning before we start work, then do some more time on the treadmill during our lunch breaks, and if we're good we do one more exercise session (a run or a core/strength workout) before dinner. I did have to wear some real clothes on Friday to go in to the hospital, and they still fit, which was a plus. When we are working at the hospital it's a challenge to get 10K steps per day; now I've been getting 12.5 easily.

 

I did a deep clean of the fish tank yesterday; spent about 4 hours taking all the live rock out and scrubbing the algae off it, cleaned the sand, took apart the refugium and scrubbed that with a brush and a shop vac, then put the live rock back in a (hopefully) better configuration. The fish are all confused; for them, it's like someone came into their house and moved all the furniture around! Hopefully they settle down soon. 

 

We have done some outdoor planting, and I did some measurements outside today to build a raised planter bed on one side of the house. There's always lots of stuff to do around the house which gets pushed off until we have "more time" and fortunately or unfortunately, we have lots of time now!

 

My project this afternoon was to try to modify an old ceiling fan into a light fixture. We had this fixture in our master bedroom for 15 years but the fan plate fell out of horizontal, so the blades scraped on the housing, and it was no longer usable. Last year I took it down and replaced it with a newer model, but we really love the style of the fixture, and I couldn't bear to toss it. So tonight I removed the blades, disconnected the motor, and rewired it  back together into a simple light fixture, which I can mount in our home office. Just need to make sure the light box is strong enough to hold it - since I couldn't remove the motor without fundamentally altering the fixture, it's still pretty heavy. But it will look great, I think.

 

This afternoon I took some duck legs out of the freezer and made a simple recipe of braised duck legs over roasted vegetables. One of my favorite uses for duck legs. Today I served it with farro, and I folded the roasted vegetables into the cooked farro, along with the leftover broth and duck fat. Delicious, with a Syrah from Sonoma.

 

 

 

Looking forward to your home office posts. But I am a little worried...Chris has been talking about finishing our basement, and that talk has been getting louder since we cleaned it out last spring. If she sees your pictures, I'm afraid it's all over for me...

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by jpalbny

[crusinbanjo]

28 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

 

Looking forward to your home office posts. But I am a little worried...Chris has been talking about finishing our basement, and that talk has been getting louder since we cleaned it out last spring. If she sees your pictures, I'm afraid it's all over for me...

 

 The office is coming along good.  Mrs Banjo did a deep clean in the gym yesterday.  Our basement right now is in disarray, ( except for the gym), because of the office project, but I should have them both finished this week, then I can get my shop back as well.  Mrs Banjo’s honey due list is getting shorter...... I might have to find a few things to build just for fun.

 

we have also been walking 3 to 4 miles a day to stay in shape as well, but miss the cruising most of all.

 

BTW, the duck and farrow looks amazing,!

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by crusinbanjo
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[Daveywavey70]

Eating mainly

Afternoon tea yesterday

Slow Roasted leg of lamb with my own honey and rosemary

Honey and Mustard crusted slow cooked pork

Beer can chicken
‘Roast beef

My magic ribs and KFC fakeaway  

And a couple of BBQs

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

43 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Eating mainly   Afternoon tea yesterday

Slow Roasted leg of lamb with my own honey and rosemary

Honey and Mustard crusted slow cooked pork

Beer can chicken  ‘Roast beef  My magic ribs and KFC fakeaway  And a couple of BBQs

 

WOW!!  Super love the food delights from Daveywavey70.  Making me hungry.  Need to have dinner and dessert right now.  

 

Great added visuals and details from crusinbanjo, J.P., etc.  Keep 'em coming!!!   Fun and exciting.  It's inspiring me to get off of my butt and do more.  But, don't tell me wife.

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Completed last summer Calgary, Jasper/Banff National Parks, Western Canada Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure, Vancouver, sailing up to Alaska, post-cruise excursion to Denali, etc.  Many visuals and details from our first in these scenic areas!  Live/blog at: 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2682584-live-terryohio-silver-muse-alaska-canadarockies-pix’s/

Edited May 10, 2020 by TLCOhio

[Lirio]

Working from home for 6 weeks now, cleaning and cooking, eating, drinking, putting on some kilos that I hope I will loose soon. Having sun bath at the window.

 

I leave in an apartment in Copacabana so no outside to go to....but  I can see the Christ statue in the distance.....from my living room window

[Lois R]

Davey, if I ever find out I can eat like that again? OMG...……..it all looks fabulous---yours too JP.

[Daveywavey70]

It’s mostly Keto Lois, I’ve lost 27lb so far but allowed myself a cheat day yesterday for the afternoon tea. The Pina Colada cake was very naughty. 

[jpalbny]

6 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

It’s mostly Keto

 

Except for the beverages... 🥂

 

Enjoy all of it! Looks yummy. 

[Daveywavey70]

Haha JP. I enjoy the odd glass of wine with my meal but Luckily I’m still allowed Tanqueray Slim and Bacardi Diet Coke for after dinner. Oh and the odd cocktail. 

[Lois R]

Good morning...…..is Keto like the new version of Atkins?

[Daveywavey70]

Similar. Carbs kept below 20g a day. I’ve found it quite easy and feel much better for it. I’m not overly strict though but I certainly don’t feel like I’m on a diet. 

[spinnaker2]

 

Trying to rehab my knee in the pool

 

 

[crusinbanjo]

2 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

 

Trying to rehab my knee in the pool

 

 

Boy have I been there.  I had knee replacement October of 2018, hardest rehab I have ever done.  Keep up the work it is worth it in the end!

[spinnaker2]

30 minutes ago, crusinbanjo said:

Boy have I been there.  I had knee replacement October of 2018, hardest rehab I have ever done.  Keep up the work it is worth it in the end!

Mr banjoman

Thanks.

 

[Stumblefoot]

3 hours ago, Lois R said:

...is Keto like the new version of Atkins?

More like South Beach.

 

First 2-weeks are really strict on carbs, but produce tremendous loss of weight.  For me, it’s typically around 4% - 5%.  The third week you can re-introduce a carb you cut out in first 2-weeks.  For me it’s always fruit.  After 3-weeks, my weight loss is typically around 6%.  The fourth week, you can re-introduce another carb and the program continues.

[Daveywavey70]

I Just do dirty Keto (20_25g) Stumbles. Do you stick with it or on and off?

 Tonight's little delicacy is pork slow cooked in cider overnight then glazed with honey and dijon and finished in the oven. Nearly ready. Patience is a virtue.

[jpalbny]

Yum!

 

No idea what's for dinner here... Going to have to sack the chef, I'm afraid! 

 

At least my sommelier job appears safe for the time being!

[QueSeraSera]

Working on starting a raised bed garden in the back.  

May have a better picture to offer in a couple months 🌿.  Or not.

Seriously considering hiring help, maybe some not-so-busy-these-days high schoolers to fill the darn thing.  $300 dump truck load of top soil had to land in front (no access to back).  Its slow going with that wheelbarrow.