A couple of weeks ago I took a quick break from work to drive down to Over-the-Rhine and see the very first rails of the Cincinnati Streetcar project be placed along the 3.6 mile route. You may recall the initial groundbreaking that I also attended in February of last year. A lot of utility relocation and preparations had to be made before the rails could be installed in the ground.

First Rail

Over the last two weeks, concrete has been poured to set the rails into place along Elm Street.  Each rail section is 80 feet long is and is being manufactured in Indiana. Delivery of the first set of rail is complete, just around forty more deliveries to complete the project.

One Down Many To go

It is very refreshing to see my city takings steps towards improving itself. It makes me happy to have settled back here and I look forward to raising my children in a progressive city.

The third floor of our house has always been setup as a master suite. It is the only bedroom in our house with its own bathroom. When our second kid came along we decided to move our bedroom furniture from the second floor up to the third and let the new baby have our old room. In order to do this, we realized that we needed a much larger closet than what was already available on the third floor.

Removing Trim

I came up with a plan to tear down the old closet wall, and build a new wall perpendicular to it. This would easily double if not triple the amount of closet space available to us. Since the bathroom is at the back of the house, the new closet would be a walk-through.

Demolition Time

My dad came over before the baby was born to help with the demolition and construction of the new wall.

The New Wall

The demolition is definitely the most fun part of the project, but it was nice to see progress once the construction started.

Wall Complete

Kim’s uncle Joe helped me to hang the drywall and get it taped and mudded.

Drywall Hung

He also added a switch so that the two lights in the old room could be turned on independently of the other. One of the lights would now be inside the walk-through closet.

Interior Of New Closet

Mud Applied

After three coats of mud it was time for some paint, also getting excellent interior house painting tips can be used in such situations. . I decided to keep it simple and paint the inside of the closet the same color as the bedroom. This made it easy on me since a couple of the old walls were already painted the correct color, and most of the ceiling too.

New Paint

After tearing up the carpet to build the new wall across the room, it was pretty obvious to me that the old carpet would not be useful anymore. It was at this time that I decided to put down some laminate flooring.

New Floors

This was the click together kind, which I found very easy to work with. So far it seems a lot more durable than the stick together kind. The only disadvantage is the installation of the stick together only needed a razor blade, while the thicker click together required a saw.

Floors Complete

Once the walls and floors were complete I started working on a design for the shelving. I decided to use a combination of Rubbermaid’s HomeFree series and their FastTrack along with a lot of the FreeSlide wire shelving for our hanging clothes.

New Shelving

Once the shelving was all installed we very quickly filled it up completely.

More Shelving

I even had one of my shelves fall off the wall, but have since found some studs to screw the supports back and the shelf is operational once more.

Even More Shelving

Somewhere along the way we also had the four windows on the third floor replaced. These were the last four single pane windows left on the house.

New Windows Exterior

The old windows either didn’t open or wouldn’t stay open. Plus we didn’t have any screens for them. The new windows are wonderfully easy to operate and help us cool and heat the space.

New Windows Interior

The only thing we are considering now is installing a mini-split system for air conditioning and heat. There are no vents for the system that is already installed on the other floors. I think that will definitely come before next summer. We are really loving all the extra space!

Months ago I first heard that the small (but quickly growing) Columbus, Ohio based chain of restaurants, Piada Italian Street Food, would soon open a location very close to my house in Cincinnati. I waited anxiously for it to open and it finally did a few weeks ago.

Outside

Anyone familiar with Chipotle or any of the other fast casual order at the counter style restaurants should find Piada’s concept very familiar. There are three options to start with the namesake piada, a pasta bowl, or a chopped salad bowl. Each of them are then customized with your choice of seven proteins, six sauces or salad dressings, followed by any of over a dozen vegetable and cheese toppings.

Inside

In addition to a variety of Pepsi products, imported Italian sodas and teas are also available ($1.75 small). I tried the lemon tea and found it to be very sweet. Typically I drink unsweetened tea, but I actually enjoyed this. I couldn’t drink more than one cup of it, but free refills are available.

Italian Sodas & Teas

I really wanted to try the piada on my first visit, but since my wife beat me to it, I decided to try the pasta bowl with grilled chicken ($6.98). The only pasta available is angel-hair, but the other options are plentiful. I had my bowl topped with the spicy diavolo sauce, artichokes, Parmesan, red onions, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes. The sauce was very good and all the toppings were fresh. The bowl provided a ton of food and I enjoyed it very much. My only complaint was that it was hard to mix the ingredients together with somewhat clumpy pasta.

Pasta Bowl

My wife ordered the piada also with grilled chicken ($6.98). The piada shell is a very thin flour dough crust that is stone grilled upon ordering. It is then topped with a variety of ingredients and rolled up like a burrito. Though my wife did not, I’ve seen some people add pasta to their piada, which I will definitely have to try in the future. Many of the ingredients she chose were similar to what I put in my pasta bowl, so the taste was pretty much the same. However I did like the crisp piada shell, which is easy to simply pick up and eat. No silverware required.

Piada

There isn’t a kids menu, but we found that the piada stick ($1.95) was perfect for our soon to be three-year-old son. There are three choices pepperoni, Parmigiano Reggiano, or artichoke. We went with the Parmigiano and it was an excellent choice! He didn’t eat the entire thing and I was very happy to enjoy his leftovers. It is served with a Parmesan dipping sauce, but it is not needed.

Piada Stick

We had a very nice time on our first visit to Piada and we will definitely be back soon. With so many ingredients available for customizing your meal, I don’t think I will grow tired of the Italian street food anytime soon.

In our most recent Green B.E.A.N. delivery we received a couple of leeks. I don’t think I’ve had leeks before, at least not that I can remember, and I certainly had no idea how to prepare them. Fortunately I found that they were very easy to prepare and sauté.

Leeks And Rainbow Carrots

This recipe is pretty basic, but I would have had no idea that carrots and leeks paired so well together. The hardest part was chopping up the veggies, which really wasn’t all that hard.

Sautéing

The results were delicious and tasted great served with a Chinese style chicken and jasmine rice.

Dinner Is Served

I look forward to trying more recipes with leeks in the future. Their onion like qualities make them an easy substitution and I’m told that they make a great addition to soups.

The college basketball season is just around the corner. In fact the University of Cincinnati mens team has their first exhibition game this Saturday. To help kick off the season a temporary court was placed onto Cincinnati’s Fountain Square last Thursday for what the university called “Midday Madness.”

Fountain Square

Despite the rainy weather, a nice size crowd of fans lined the court for the afternoon event. A few lucky individuals were invited onto the court to participate in free throw and three-point competitions. All participants were given season tickets for the upcoming season!

Free Throw Contest

Some members of the mens and womens basketball teams were also on hand for interviews and even a three-point contest of their own.

Three Point Contest

Members of the marching band, cheer-leading squad, and dance team were also in attendance, though they mostly stayed under cover of the stage. The award-winning dance team did thrill the crowd with a performance at center court.

Band & Cheerleaders On Stage

After hearing from both coaches, the court was opened up to all players present for a quick shootaround. After that anyone in attendance was allowed on to the court to shoot baskets while the players retreated to nearby tables to sign autographs.

Player Shootaround

Even with the less than ideal weather, the event was still cool to see and a great idea to connect the uptown university to the downtown area. I can’t imagine how much better it would have been on a nice warm day, but I guess that is the chance you take when dealing with October weather.

Ge’Lawn Guyn

A couple of Saturdays ago one of the coolest little music festivals I have ever attended took place. Mayesfest took place inside Bellevue Beach Park and was a celebration of bluegrass and American roots music. The park’s location inside historic Bellevue, KY and right on the banks of the Ohio River offered sweeping views, plenty of shade, and fun for all ages.

A temporary stage was situated so that the river was the backdrop. Between the stage area and the vending areas was the parks permanent playground, which was perfect for those attending with children. We were able to throw down a blanket under a large tree and watch both the bands playing on stage and our kids running around on the swings and slides. It doesn’t get much better than that!

The first act we saw of the afternoon was Al Scorch, who I saw for the first time earlier this year. This time he was playing a solo set, which helped his amazing banjo playing stand out even more. Al left it all up on the stage and was covered in sweat by the end of his 45 minute set. I will continue to be on the lookout for additional shows of his in the future.

Al Scorch

Next we saw a local band by the name of Hickory Robot. Fiddle player Lauren Schloemer’s pretty voice leads this quartet of talented guitar, mandolin, and bass players. They will be playing at the Washington Park’s City Apple Festival on November 2 from 3-4:30.

The final act we watched this afternoon was The Downtown County Band. Hailing from the rolling hills of Owenton KY, this group of young men are reinventing the traditional jug band sound with a style both new and unique. They will be playing the last night of Washington Park’s Bandstand Bluegrass this Thursday, October 24, from 6-8:00. I’m really hoping to attend.

We had an excellent time at Mayesfest and I hope it happens again next year!

In addition to trying Red Sesame at the Cincinnati Street Food Festival, I also had my first experience with Catch-A-Fire Pizza. The truck itself is a pretty amazing sight! There are flames painted on the outside of it and real flames are contained inside the truck in a Mugnaini wood fired oven.

Catch-A-Fire Truck

I ordered a slice of the Jammin’ Jerk Chicken pizza with their signature jerk sauce, red onion, spiced chicken, bell peppers, four cheeses, and topped with sweet potato chips. I guess this is a specialty item right now, though they are considering adding it to the full menu. I haven’t had any of their other offerings, but this slice of pizza is definitely worthy of being on a permanent menu.

Catch-A-Fire Pizza

The crust was perfectly wood fired with a crisp outside but still chewy on the inside, which I’m assuming would be true for any of their offerings. The toppings were plentiful and tasted great together. I’m not entirely sold on the sweet potato chips on top, as they add a weird crunchy texture to the pizza, but they are easy to remove for anyone who agrees with me. Overall Catch-A-Fire pizza is a welcome addition to the Cincinnati food truck scene.

One of Kim’s coworkers has a daughter named Grace who was diagnosed with leukemia on July 27. She spent 52 days in the hospital. She is currently in remission and she will have to spend the next two and a half years receiving chemotherapy so the leukemia never returns.

Grace

To help the fight against leukemia and lymphoma our family joined thousands of others for a fundraiser event called Light the Night at Sawyer Point a week ago. During the short, evening walk, participants carry illuminated balloons (white = survivors, red = supporters, gold = in memory) to help bring light to the dark world of cancer.

Light The Night

Kim and other employees at Great American Insurance Group raised over $18,000 for the cause!

Light The Night

Donations can still be made by through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s website.

Light The Night

This past Saturday was the second annual Cincinnati Street Food Festival taking place in Walnut Hills. I missed the event last year but there was no way I was going to miss it this year. Turns out we had fantastic weather for the event and all seventeen food vendors seemed to be keeping very busy throughout the afternoon.

Red Sesame Taco Truck

There were a small number of trucks that I had tried before, but for the most part the vendors were mostly new to me. The first one I tried of the day was the Red Sesame Korean BBQ taco truck. I had heard of this truck before but had never tried any of their food. The menu was pretty simple offering tacos and quesadillas with either beef, chicken, or tofu.

Korean BBQ Taco Set

I decided to try the Korean BBQ taco set with chicken ($6). The presentation is pretty simple, two flour tortillas packed with an abundance of chicken, a handful of romaine lettuce, and topped with a tangy and slightly spicy homemade sauce. The red pepper based sauce was easily my favorite ingredient and others in my group all agreed. The sauce is really good and worth trying on any of their items. If the burrito is available the next time I see the truck, I would probably give that a try instead, as it adds kimchi to the mix giving it a more authentic Korean taste.

It’s officially pumpkin patch season! My family and a group of my in-laws all headed down to Country Pumpkins in Dry Ridge, KY a couple of weekends ago. We had a large group of well over 20 so we rented their facility out for a couple of hours after closing.

Stuff For Sale

The cost was just $5 per person and included a hay ride along with exclusive access to a bonfire, corn maze, corn box, straw maze, picnic shelter, play area, and petting zoo.

Lots O’ Pumpkins

As you would expect a ton of pumpkins are for sale from the tiniest all the way up to the fifteen and twenty pounders! You can also take a hay ride out their pumpkin patch and pick your own.

Hay Ride

Speaking of hay rides, our entire group was treated to a twenty-minute hay ride touring parts of the farm. We rode past the dairy barn and saw a bunch of dairy cows. We also saw some beef cows way out in the distance. The farm is fairly large at 250 acres.

Family Sized Corn Box

Our kids favorite part of the entire trip were the corn boxes. They were already filled with a variety of sand toys and even pool noodles. I even spent a handful of minutes playing in the corn and paid for it dearly the next day. I always dismissed my corn allergy as it never affected my eating habits, but I guess I should definitely avoid the dusty corn boxes in the future.

More Corn Box

We had a great time at Country Pumpkins and cannot wait for Halloween!