Episode 15: Summerfeeling

Podcast

Welcome to another episode of Random Acts Radio 2.0! This one goes out to all the people who would rather not see fall approaching (or having already arrived in some places) but want to hold onto summer with both hands. The music in this episode reminds me of both the languid days of summer–good for planning and relaxing–as well as beach parties to get the blood pumping and ideas churning.

This episode’s playlist:

  Summerfeeling—Dreamweaver 
Absinthe Minded—Adrienne Pierce
Kingdom—Zel
Fading—Al Stravinsky
Corbeaux Following—Kobo Town
Give Thanks—JoJoe
Stand By Me—Rouffdraff
Lucy Anne—Little Plastic Stars
Throwin’ It Down Beside the Sea—20 Riverside
Drinks Are On Me—880 South
Lottery—Sam Page
Dance To The Radio—Blade Of Grass 

As always, our thanks go out to all of the artists who make their work available to easily share with you. The music from this episode is from Mevio’s Music Alley. If you like what you hear, use the links, above, to find out more about these artists and show ’em some love. If you don’t like what you hear, let me know!  I can’t improve if I don’t know what the problems are, and constructive criticism is always welcome.

Wishing you creative days!
~Scraps~

HOI, What Is It Good For?

The Gingerbread Diaries

Obviously home owners insurance is one of those items you hope you never have to use. Right up there with car insurance, health insurance, and any other insurance you can think of. Lately, though, HOI has only been good for a headache or three.

You may remember that whole ordeal we had just getting insurance to buy the house. That business with needing the insurance before we can buy the house, but needing a new roof before we could get insurance, but needing to buy the house before we could replace the roof? Yeah, that. Having jumped that hurdle and completed the required renovations, the idea was we’d get a better policy. A non-state-sponsored policy.

That was the theory and in July we managed to make it into a reality by switching from GUA to AMS. The policy was a bit more expensive, but we were happier with the replacement value for the contents option, so that’s what we went with. Now, you’d think it’d be a matter of a phone call or two and a sign here or there, but–once again–nothing is ever that simple.

The original policy had been paid as part of our closing costs but the bank, in a fit of oopsy-daisy, paid it again when they got their copy of the policy. So, despite paying twice for what was ultimately 2.5 months of coverage, somehow our refund check from GUA was only a little over $200? Nope! So after some back and forth with the agent who went back and forth with GUA, two more checks were cut, one day apart. One arrived within 2 days, the other, for some inexplicable reason, took 2 weeks to even be mailed.

Meanwhile, the bank had paid for the new policy out of our escrow funds and that account was officially overdrawn. As soon as the refund came it it would be, more or less, put to rights, but seeing that negative was never a comfortable thing.

So that was July and August. Everything’s good, now, right?

Silly homeowners…

A couple of weeks ago we received the first property tax bill and, since that’s being paid out of the escrow account, too, the bank needed it more than we did. Thankfully, it’s a simple matter to call them up and confirm the numbers–you don’t even have to scan the bill. Unfortunately, any changes to any of the expected outlays from an escrow account prompts an escrow analysis to be run, and, once again, our balance was coming up short in the end result. But how? Or, well, how can it be THAT much off to where our monthly payments would go up $50-75 when the difference in the two policies was less than $200 a year? And, for what it’s worth, the tax bill was lower than their estimate.

The more we looked into it, the more I started to notice a few things:

  • First of all, for some unknown reason every transaction–be it coming in or going out–is termed a payment. That doesn’t help make things very clear.
  • Both the outlay of the $777 for the duplicate insurance payment and the refund check for $777 that I deposited directly into the escrow account were both “positives”

Now, I’m used to double-entry bookkeeping with its debits and credits. I suppose there are other ways to go about it, but after 18 years of that I can’t fathom why anyone would use it, especially not a mortgage company! Anyway, I questioned, my accomplice on the other end of the line agreed that something didn’t look right–it was there but it wasn’t necessarily in the right place. Supposedly a fix is being worked on, but those take a week or so and I have yet to see it show up in the transaction ledger. After that we can ask for an escrow analysis to see if/how much we’re going to be short for the year. If we don’t call, they automatically do an analysis at every mortgage anniversary (so for us it would be in April) and then 2 months later our mortgage payment will adjust up or down as needed.

Of course, there’s nothing that says you have to pay for your taxes or home owners insurance out of the escrow account. The alternative is to pay those lump-sum bills as they come due. For most people those large payments throughout the year isn’t always convenient, so the escrow account serves a useful purpose and that’s why we opted for it. But the lesson we’ve learned is not to change policies in the middle of the mortgage year.

While that might not seem super-relevant to the insurance headache (considering that’s a bank headache), but it’s worth knowing because, well, we almost had to change insurers again. And with our escrow still in shambles it was not the way I wanted to go!

Last Friday night (thank goodness after our friends had left for the evening otherwise this would have put a serious damper on the fun!) we got a little “love letter” from AMS. And it certainly wasn’t a pledge of devotion for choosing them to insure our home. Nope, they were cancelling our policy because of

uneven and loose brick walkway in the back

Now, it’s true that the bricks that edged the concrete slab our back steps rest on were both loose and uneven. The mortar had long since given up the ghost. And I get that an insurance company could see it as a hazard. But, folks, we’re talking about 44 bricks that were going to cost us our insurance. Doesn’t that seem like overkill to you?

That's a walkway?! Generous...

That’s a walkway?! Generous…

There’s also a chance they could be talking about the area on the other side of our girl. I suppose it could be called a walkway IF you wanted to walk from our grill into the side of our house. But, sure, we’ll include those in the clean-up on a better safe than sorry level.

Closer to being an actual walkway, sure, but to where?!

Closer to being an actual walkway, sure, but to where?!

In total, I removed 180ish bricks from the side of our home in the hopes that it would untwist AMS’s knickers.

This part took about 20 minutes to remove.

This part took about 20 minutes to remove.

While this part took a little longer (some of the bricks were actually covered with dirt and had to be uncovered before being dug out).

While this part took a little longer (some of the bricks were actually covered with dirt and had to be uncovered before being dug out).

Thankfully, this worked. While some Facebook friends suggested finding other coverage, the age of our house makes the pickings pretty slim to begin with. It’d have been the height of irony to go through all of that and end up right back where we started with the state-run policy.

Here’s the scoop, though, on that whole cancel first, ask questions never habit. Apparently an insurance company has 60 days to cancel new business or else they’re stuck insuring the property until renewal. Our AMS policy began July 18. I received the cancellation notice on September 19. There’s that 60 days! But we’re back in good standing so, at least until next summer, we’re covered.

It’s my own fault, of course. I’d just told a friend earlier that night that I thought we were finally done with the “triage” portion of old-house ownership. Hah!

For those new to homeownership or considering buying an old house like we did? Consider this yet another cautionary tale courtesy of Todd and I bumbling our way throught this odd little adventure. And the next time we learn something the hard way, I’ll be sure to share.

Tuesday Reviews-Day: Keurig 2.0 K550

Tuesday Revews-Day

It’s a fun day when new toys come in the mail.

I give points for packaging, and the booklet that came with the brewer is quite spiffy with it's tissue liners, etc.

I give points for packaging, and the booklet that came with the brewer is quite spiffy with it’s tissue liners, etc.

Though I suppose it’s not quite right to call the new Keurig 2.0 system a toy, it’s more like a workhorse! I received the K550 model through an Influenster promotion and have been getting to know my new coffee maker for the past couple of weeks. Now, since this was a promotion, I figured they’d be sending out the basic model (the 350) and, believe me, I wouldn’t be complaining! I’ve wanted a Keurig for some time but I couldn’t quite justify the cost just for me since Todd drinks neither coffee nor tea. So when I picked up my brewer and found it was the large, feature-full K550 I was even more impressed, and impatient to try it out!

My first brew! See the black circle on the lid? That tells you it's the updated K-Cup that'll work in this brewer.

My first brew! See the black circle on the lid? That tells you it’s the updated K-Cup that’ll work in this brewer.

Things I love about my K550:

  • An 80 oz reservoir with a charcoal filter that means I only need to fill it up once a week (on average) for my morning coffees and evening teas. And when it needs a refill the screen asks nicely, “More water, please”
  • The brewing size options and strength control that does the measuring for me at a push of a button, saving me time, and not making me think too hard about using either a regular cup or a travel mug.
  • The choice of tank light colors to match my kitchen—it’s a small but nice detail and the little touches are what set them apart from the more utilitarian machines.
  • And, of course, the ability to brew a carafe as well as a cup! This was another big detractor to buying a Keurig in the past, since I want to be able to offer my guests coffee and cup-by-cut can be tedious in group situations.
The tank light in "action." There's also a nightlight feature that comes in pretty handy if you forget to leave the light over the stove on ;-)

The tank light in “action.” There’s also a nightlight feature that comes in pretty handy if you forget to leave the light over the stove on 😉

Some things I’m not 100% on board with:

  • It doesn’t work with the refillable pods. This has to do with the machine reading the code on the K-Cup lids for quality control issues. So my Mr. Coffee will only be put on the shelf until the old coffee stash is used up, not put out to pasture just yet.
  • The auto-brew function is only for carafes. A bit of a bummer, but it’s still so quick to brew the single-servings in the morning there’s no immediate inconvenience.
  • The samples that ship with the brewer are all caffeinated, and I don’t really do caffeine for medical reasons. You’d think that at least one sample in the multi-pack could be decaf or even one of the herbal tea blends, right? After all, judging by the website offerings, 16% of their K-Cup varieties are caffeine free in one way or another!

That last one I’d researched so I picked up a couple boxes of decaf K-Cups before the brewer arrived, then a few more when I next went to the store. Since I’d been under the weather I was drinking more tea than anything else, and a surprising perk to using the K-Cups was no tea bag in the mug to deal with. I mean, sure, duh, but it was one of those things that I was so used to dealing with that not having to was pretty cool. It’s also nice for evening cup of Sleepytime that I bring up to bed with me, not having to worry about the tea bag or a mug. My Earl Grey Decaf K-Cups are on their way and I’m really looking forward to them!

Yummy coffee on a messy desk... such is my life!

Yummy coffee on a messy desk… such is my life!

As for coffee, I’ve been switching between the Green Mountain Hazelnut Decaf and the Donut Shop Decaf in the mornings, occasionally swapping in Tazo’s Zen Green tea (not totally caffeine free, but fairly low; low enough where it doesn’t trigger my arrhythmia in any case). I’ve also got a few more cases of K-Cups coming in to try out: the current buy 2 get 2 free offer when you register your brewer at Keurig.com comes in handy for stocking up, especially if your local selection is a little spotty.

One of the big complaints I’ve seen among reviews is the fact that the older K-Cups won’t work with the 2.0 system for the same reason the refillable pods don’t: the lids don’t have the right encoding or whatever and if you try to put one in the machine it’ll give you a rather polite ‘Oops!’ message and not let you brew it. If you already have a stash of K-Cups, you may want to put off upgrading to the 2.0 system until your stock has run low.

With the size and strength brewing options of the 2.0, not to mention the little check box for teas or other specialty items, I really hope Keurig will come out with their own refillable K-Cup that’ll work in the 2.0 brewers. I’d definitely buy one so I can use it with the loose teas I have. Plus, for folks who like to support local beaneries that don’t have the volume to produce K-Cups, it’d be a great way for Keurig to bridge the gap between local coffee producers and their brewers. In the mean time, the K550 does have the option to dispense up to 6oz of hot water at a go, so I could still use my stock of tea bags up. (I suppose it’s also useful for watering down coffee for those who like theirs on the weaker side. Different strokes!)

The hot water feature. The option comes up whenever you close the top after removing the spent K-Cup, or you can press the little water droplet on the side of the screen.

The hot water feature. The option comes up whenever you close the top after removing the spent K-Cup, or you can press the little water droplet on the side of the screen.

The K-Cups do have a major leg-up on the convenience factor, though, and I certainly like that the only clean-up is taking out the used pod. The brewers do require periodic maintenance, but even that doesn’t seem too onerous (use of a descaling solution for build-up and then running a reservoir or two of water to rinse it out), and I think the use of the optional filter in the tank is supposed to keep the mineral build-up to a minimum.

Overall I’m thrilled to finally have a Keurig of my own, and I look forward to trying out the carafe feature over the holidays (when I can brew a pot of “leaded” for my family and still make my own decaf without any extra fuss). It’s made my morning and evening routines that much easier–even a few minutes saved each day adds up!

***In case I didn’t make it painfully clear already, I was sent a Keurig 2.0 K550 brewer for the purpose of testing and review through my participation with Influenster.com. All opinions expressed are my own.***

National Bourbon Heritage Month | Rosemary-Peach Julep

Sips

single barrel_2013

September is National Bourbon Heritage Month and Four Roses Bourbon contacted me to see if I’d create a cocktail with their Single-Barrel Kentucky Bourbon. Of course I would!

Now, back when I was doing the AlcoHOLidays series, we talked a lot about how many of these so-called “National” days of what have you were trumped up by special interest groups or a marketing ploy by companies. Not so with National Bourbon Heritage Month, I’m happy to report, as the US Senate designated September for the celebration of “America’s Native Spirit” back in 2007, the title Congress bestowed upon Bourbon back in 1964.

Fact is, Bourbon really is our own little claim to spirits fame as far as the base spirits go. While it’s similar to whisk(e)y in production, Bourbon’s majority-corn mash and oak cask-aging set it apart from the wheat, rye, or barley-heavy mashes of other countries. It began in the 1700s in Kentucky and is still going strong throughout the region.

Now, I admit, Bourbon has never been my go-to beverage; I’m more a clear-spirit girl. But I’ve come quite a long way in appreciating it since my first, burning experience with it back in the early aughts at a wine tasting. The more I learn about it and the more I taste different brands, I’m happy to discover those slow sipping bourbons that I read about in dusty old books and can appreciate the flow of warmth that a smooth bourbon can bring.

When sampled neat, Four Roses Single Barrel bourbon left my lips and the tip of my tongue tingling but offered no burn around the edges of my palate the way harsher spirits would. You can feel the warmth travelling down your throat, it’s flavor not overly woody, but the aftertaste is pleasantly earthy–like the umami of mushrooms or Brie. Since I happened to really like those foods, I consider that a good thing! Having been laid low by a recent head/chest cold, a friend reminded me of the soothing power of the toddy, so one night I added a splash of Four Roses to my evening cuppa and let me assure you that this bourbon mingles nicely with chamomile-based herbal teas, making its presence known without overpowering.

Nose: Fruity, spicy, floral, cocoa, maple syrup, moderately woody.
Palate: Hints of ripe plum & cherries, robust, full body, mellow.
Finish: Smooth & delicately long.

But a cocktail is what was requested and a cocktail is what I shall deliver!

You can pair a hundred flavors with a good spirit but I like traditions and I like to keep things simple while playing off familiar stories. What could be a more classic treatment for bourbon than the deceptively simple julep?

When a drink has so few ingredients, it’s vital we choose them with care. The classic mint julep uses spring of fresh mint and sugar or simple syrup along with the bourbon and ice. In deference to Four Roses and my current relocation to Georgia’s Rose City, I opted for a peach liqueur in place of the simple syrup, and my favorite, fragrant savory herb–rosemary–for muddling and garnish. The combination is both contradictory and complementary and I find it delightful!

Rosemary-Peach Julep

Rosemary-Peach Julep

Rosemary-Peach Julep

2 3-inch sprigs of fresh Rosemary
1 oz Peach Schnapps
2 oz Four Roses Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon
crushed ice
short straw

Into a lowball or julep cup, strip the leaves off one rosemary sprig and muddle with a splash of the schnapps. You don’t need to pulverize it, just release some of the fragrant oils. Add the rest of the schnapps and the bourbon, fill the glass with crushed ice and stir with the straw until the outside of the glass or cup is nice and frosty. Garnish with the remaining sprig of rosemary.

Details are almost as important as ingredients for a julep. The ice must absolutely be crushed–cubed ice just won’t do. The increased surface area of the crushed ice both chills the beverage and mixes down into the beverage more quickly than larger pieces of ice. Creating crushed ice is no more work than gathering ice cubes in a (clean, obviously) bar towel and beating it with your muddler until sufficiently broken up. The short straw is also crucial for two reasons: this is a drink to be savored over a period of time, not chased down in a hurry; the short straw also brings your nose in the range of the fresh herb garnish, adding to the overall flavor of the beverage (flavor being comprised of both taste and aroma, after all).

And remember, experiences are only as good as the memories they leave behind. Enjoy responsibly so you’re around to remember!

Cheers!

***I received a sample of Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon for the purpose of review and cocktail creation. This was a sponsored post, but all opinions expressed are my own.***

Episode 14: Sweet Tea

Podcast

Today’s episode turned out to fit beautifully with the September challenge over at Gauche Alchemy, so I decided to run with it! While not all of the songs are strictly “country,” they all have some aspect of down home earnestness, a twang to go along with the back-beat, or something else that makes them fit in my head; there’s even a bit of the rolling zydeco rhythms in there in tribute to my beginnings in Louisiana. And an apology for my voice, today, I’m still getting over the cold that prevented me from putting out an episode over Labor Day weekend as planned. Hopefully we’re back on track again with this episode and I’ll find a good time for the “missing” set of songs to fall into place 🙂

Sweet Tea—Kim McLean 
If You Feel Froggy—Freighttrain Jones
That Texas Girl—Late Model Humans
Mercury In Retrograde—Sean Wiggins
Space monkey—Jim Hodgson
Rolling Back To You—Codie Prevost
Hard Way Home—Runaway Dorothy
Need a Little Squeezin—Copper Box
Zydeco Junkie—Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band
Strip Tease—Musical Spa
As Far As My Heart Can See—Norma Jean Martine
Evelyn’s Green—She Swings, She Sways
One Monkey Don’t Stop The Show—Dann Schumann

Of course, this isn’t my only contribution to this month’s Gauche Alchemy challenge. To go along with the music I painted up an old pair of lace ankle boots into appropriate dancing shoes. Check out today’s post over at gauchealchemy.com to see and read more about my project and find out how to enter your own inspired creation for a chance at this month’s prize.

jvanderbeek_paisley_painted_boots

And on a technical note, can I just say how much easier it is to create this podcast now that I’ve started using Adobe Audition?! When I started podcasting I used Garage Band because it came on my my Mac and it was fairly user-friendly. Since Minnie the Mac finally gave up the ghost last year, I was kinda dreading how I was going to put the episodes together and, truth be told, it was part of the reason I kept putting off relaunching the podcast. I know a lot of people use Audacity (the fact that it’s free helps) and I downloaded it to edit some songs for our wedding last year. It’s okay, but it wasn’t as intuitive as I’d hoped; even reading the help and tutorial files didn’t help all that much.

Now, Audition is cheap, but since I subscribe to Adobe’s Creative Cloud service anyway for Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Lightroom and (more recently) Premier Pro, it was nothing extra to download Audition as well. And even though the process of putting together the podcast still involves selecting and rearranging the playlist to the point where I’ve listened to the whole thing about 5 times before it’s all said and done, using Audition means that the actual putting-together of the show takes about as long as listening through it all once more time. Even the transitions that took forever to fiddle with in Garage Band are automatic in Audition, to the point where I maybe have to tweak one each show.

So, you know, if you’ve ever thought of creating your own podcast on whatever subject or in whatever format, I can’t rate Audition highly enough for making the technical aspects super simple.

[/end PSA; no affiliate links just a really happy customer :)]