The Great Cabinet Escape: A Duckster Adventure

As I've said before Ducksters don't just do stuff we have adventures. Two weekends ago the Ducksters were reunited at my house on the lake in Snowville. CD was taking a much needed break from attending to family illnesses. She arrived late afternoon on Friday and we began to plan the weekend events.

I had been looking to replace a small cupboard/cabinet that sat between the stairwell and hallway in the kitchen. The existing cabinet is hand crafted and I've owned it for donkey's years but it was really too small  (36" high by 33" wide X 10" deep) to hold much in a well organized fashion and the wall there is about 17 feet high. So it could be replaced with something a lot taller

Here it is in its new home in my study. 

I had been looking on line for a cabinet but everything I liked had glass doors and given what I wanted to put in this--as you will see--really was not stuff for a glass door cabinet. Martha Stewart would not have approved ;).  The Sunday before CD came we stopped at Snoopers an antique mall in Wytheville to check out any possibilities there.  I have bought several pieces there, their prices are not higher than a cat's back, and its within easy travel of home --no shipping charges.  I skated through the place and saw a few possibles and then  I found this oak cabinet  measured 82" X 40" x 13".  OH YES.  It was full of antique china, etc. with its doors hanging open but looked good.  On top of that everything in the booth over $20 was 20% off. This brought it totally into my price range and I was thinking "this is a definite possibility."

The first issue was which way to transport it.  We have a Jeep and a Highlander which I know will hold anything up to 72" lying flat. We also have an 8 foot trailer and CD was coming with her 4Runner.  CD and I both felt that putting it on the trailer in winter and traveling on interstate and then country roads was not the very best idea.  Besides, it was to be a Duckster  adventure.

We took off with the 4Runner Saturday AM after moving the little cabinet down to the study. The goal was to get there and back in time for CD, Mr P and me to go for lunch. First we had to check out Lowe's where CD was hunting a floating shelf that the Lowe's in Charleston had discontinued.  The we backtracked up I81 to Snoopers. 

We checked out the cabinet and found that the doors would not stay shut. But  there was a lock.  They finally found the key. It would not work.  We talked it over and decided that given the price and the looks and size of the cabinet and the probability that we could fix it, it was still a good deal. So the purchase was made.  The young woman helper behind the counter was dispatched to empty the china, CD went to back the 4Runner up to the door, and I followed Ms Helper who had already started the grumble of "Most people bring big men with them when they come to get furniture."  ( Can you rent those from the Big Men Store) As I watched her make a hash of removing the antiques china, my worries began. Goodness what a clumsy hasty person who clearly was not a happy camper.  She went to get a dolly and came back still grumbling about bringing big men.  CD and I have moved a lot of furniture and generally a) know what we are doing, b) think alike without too much discussion, and c) do what will cause the least strain to our frame.  Still grumbling Ms Helper--who BTW smelled pretty  ripe--pushed us out of the way, went over and started to lift this 82" high cabinet straight up in the air. She demanded "Isn't anyone going to help me."  Our plan had been to lay the cabinet down on it side and use the dolly or felt moving rugs we had brought to slide it out.  CD said "I don't think it will fit on the dolly." Ms Helper insisted it would and CD proceeded to pick up her end while I slide the dolly as close as possible in this little booth filled with antique items--mostly breakable.  CD get her end on the dolly while Ms H dropped her end and smashed an antique picture hanging on the wall.  Finally we got the cabinet on the dolly (it did fit straight up) and we now had about 90" of height which of course would not go through the door. 

The cabinet had a false ornamental front across the top which we had already determined was loose and came off. CD tried to get it off but wasn't tall enough. Meanwhile MsH was walking around holding her back saying "I think I've got a hernia."   While CD went to get the felt rug, Ms H went and got a ladder and a screwdriver, climbed up and started prying it off.  I stepped up to her and said in that voice police use when they say "step away from the vehicle" "I've bought this.  Let us deal with it."  CD and I started to get it off the dolly.  We were about half way there when two guys who noticed what we were doing, stepped up, lifted it from the two ends, carried it out and deposited in the 4Runner.  The hatch closed.  Thank you guys where ever you are.  We'll love you forever.  The main clerk at Snoopers offered them popcorn for life. They responded with "You won't even remember who we are."  CD grabbed a box of popcorn and we took off. Ms H was still having a hernia.

Once home  Mr P., Colleen and I got the cabinet in the house in under five minutes using the tried and true method of walking a piece, laying  it down on the felt rugs and sliding, and co-ordinating all moves.  The cabinet is now happily living a useful life where it belongs. Clearly we had rescued it and made its escape possible. 

Doesn't it  look grand here.

Now about those doors. First, we found that the left door was held shut by thumb screw and all we had to deal with was the right door. The thought of a magnetic latch was floated.  OK as a back up plan but first we tried various shims.  We found that a wooden match worked grand.  So, the door is held shut by three wooden matches wood glued to the top with the matches head cut off.  As Mr P would say "Bob's your uncle I've been happily organising seasonal items in it. It has four shelves plus a huge bottom drawer.  On top we have a lamp on a timer which comes on at 5PM and goes off at 10 PM. 

Top shelf is ruby red items and Christmas, next shelf amber and autumn items, next shelf miscellaneous, and bottom larger items. Drawer holds manuals that you look at once every five to ten years. This not only emptied out the cabinet that was there, it emptied out another cabinet and there is still room for stuff.  The Great Escape was worth it. Oh, and we got Mr P. to lunch by 12:30. Hope MsH got over her hernia, took a shower and bought deodorant.

Shout out to Radford City Florists

On Thursday I dropped by Radford City Florists to see my friends Curtis and Jeff.  I'm hunting ruby red glass containers for my battery operated candles that are on timers.  http://www.batteryoperatedcandles.net/  These candles are wonderful and make life just a little sweeter,especially in the dark time of winter. 
the twitch on the bottom has three choices--off, on, and timer.   If you put them on the timer, choose at time you want them to come on and then flick the switcher at that time to timer.  They come on, stay on for about four hours, and come on again ever day at the time that you turned them on 

But back to the hunt. In trying to find these ruby red glass candle containers, I found that the best source was wholesale florists vases.  So off I went to see Jeff and Curtis.  They had several options and one worked really well. A  lovely footed hurricane that will hold a pillar candle quite nicely. 

As usual we had to chat about this and that and how was business and how was business on Main Street and such what.  The Jeff said, "Would you like some roses?"  Now, I buy cut flowers at RCF often and Jeff has given me flowers before but not like this. RCF has a weekly special of a dozen roses for $9.95 which works pretty well as walk ins from guys who need some flowers for various reasons.   But this past week the weather has been very crummy here so fewer walk ins.  Jeff put together this huge armload of roses that literally made me stagger at times.  When I finally got to the Jeep the bicep of my right arm was aching.  I took them to my office and handed some out to staff and then the rest went home into three huge bouquets--one in a silver ice bucket. 



Aren't these beautiful.  Thank you, thank you Jeff and Curtis.  I just love all the mixed colors.  So, folks if you need flowers please check RCF out. http://www.radfordflorist.com/

The Great Gravy Controversy of 2010

I have been making gravy for about 50 years now and been making gravy for Mr P for over 20. Every now and then he would bring up how in Canada they make gravy with a product called Bisto and that sausage and gravy is link sausage made with Bisto and served over white bread. Bisto is stirred into water and then added to the fat and flour.  OK.  I can live with that.  That's the Canadian equivalent to biscuits and gravy in the south.  This is not something I make because I'm  not a big eater at breakfast and don't like dough foods like pancakes, french toast, biscuits,etc.  I'm more a juice and toast person.  But recently Mr P has taken to eating biscuits and gravy at one of our fav restaurants BT's which serves breakfast on Saturday and Sunday until 2PM.  I tell him its OK since we are not that far from the hospital--clogged arteries and all that.

Well for New Years Day we often go out for breakfast but frankly I am tired of going places New Years AM and dealing with hungover wait staff and/or cooks.  So, I decided to make him biscuits and gravy at home.  Now, this is no big deal.  Sausage gravy in the south is made with bulk sausage--I think Gunnoe's is best-- flour is added to the fat to make the roux- and then milk is slowly added. Mr P was fascinated with the idea of milk.  So fascinated that he told his sister Evelyn in Canada who said, "Well, that's different."  Now folks, I ask you--what did Mr.P. think made the gravy white. I thought about their surprise and realized I had been eating white gravy since I was child.  My relatives all had dairy farms, the cream was made into butter for sale, and there was always tons of skim milk around which got used for lots of things including making gravy.  I decided to explore this Bisto product and googled it.

Turns out that Bisto has a 70% share of the gravy market in Britain and is apparently made and poured over something at almost every meal. According to the info on its website it comes in powder and granular form. The actual contents of this product was not disclosed but it does come in flavors like beef, chicken, and onion.

Mr. P maintains that all it is, is coloring.  You put some in a cup of water and add to your fat and flour. I maintain that it must have some flavoring and some thickening agent. This became quite a heated discussion.  So, I went on the hunt for Bisto and finally found it in the granular form at the local Kroger.  Yes, this has flavoring and a thickening agent. Mr P says its not the same.

I mentioned all this to my staff--all women--and we had at least a half hour gravy discussion. Clearly, gravy is an important factor in peoples lives when you start suggesting there are other ways to make it and call it gravy. My southern staff found the idea of link sausage, brown gravy made with a thing called Bisto and served on white bread just as strange as the response of Mr P, to the idea that sausage and gravy was made with bulk sausage and milk.

I'm afraid to introduce the idea of red eye gravy which is made with coffee. BTW, every southern woman also knows Grands are the best short cut when making biscuits for breakfast.