One of the greatest things we put in this house are the heat lamps for the bathrooms.
Mom was the one to suggest it, and knowing from experience how nice it was in grandma Millie’s bathroom, I knew it was a good idea. Particularly since there is no heat source in either bathroom.
We did discuss putting in the mat type of radiant heating at one point, but my dad said he didn’t think it was a good idea. Too much of a risk with leaks. I think he’s wrong, but what do I know? I just think he didn’t want to be the one to install it. Daddy and grandpa don’t like technology.
Anyway, I think it would have helped take the chill off the bathrooms a bit better than the heat lamp on those cold winter mornings. I know you can put them under tile, and I’m pretty sure you can use them with cork as well.
But anyway, the heat lamps are great, and I’m very glad mom suggested them.
They have a timer, I guess so they don’t overheat, but I often use the timer like an alarm in the mornings. When the heat lamp goes off, it’s time to be done in the bathroom.
I only wish they came in some kind of cool, retro finish. This plastic doesn’t really say bungalow to me.
Mostly I wanted to go out of curiosity. Actually there have been many open houses I’ve wanted to see over the years, but I’ve been too timid to go since I am not actually house hunting. But this time was different. First of all, I talked mom and Lewis into going with me. Secondly, they are asking almost twice what I paid for my house just five years ago, and I wanted to see how Oliver’s Bungalow would compare. We’ve put a lot of money into our house, and I’ve been afraid that, at least right now, we have more money sunk into the house than it is worth. Market value worth, not, you know, what it is worth to me. I know that most of the improvements we have made were necessary, long-term investments. But it is interesting to see something so similar, in our neighborhood, on the market for this price.
Mom marked all the recipes she wants me to try from the book that came with the breadmaker. Then she and I went to the grocery store Saturday afternoon and bought nearly every kind of flour known: whole wheat flour, bread flour, rye flour, tapioca flour, almond flour, brown rice flour, garfava flour, sorghum flour, brown rice flour…
Plus a couple of box mixes, just to get started. Saturday night I made my first loaf of bread from the honey wheat berry box mix. I followed the directions carefully, then once all the ingredients were in, I realized I had forgotten the mixing paddle. Oops. The directions say that the yeast must not touch the water, but I had to scoop the whole business out to put the mixing paddle in, and it still came out just fine.
Not too bad, but I think I would like a lighter crust. Next time.
Green Bungalow Craftworks 
