Hi, Congrats on acquiring such an interesting home. I think the mystery finish is a faux wood graining; when the original finish (probably shellac or oil varnish) became tatty looking, to save a complete refinishing, somebody decided to cover the flaws with the paint/stain/varnish method. Graining is notorious for being nearly impossible to touch up. The steps involved would be a very deep cleaning to remove gunk. Then any chips in the grain coat may be filled in with artists colors (even wood-tone sharpie-type markers) and finally a new layer of varnish to protect the artistry for another few decades. The aptness of the colors mixing and application will tell in the finished product. If you did decide to strip it to the original finish (maybe it's some fabulous hardwood!) the job will be more or less difficult depending on how much grain base paint embedded itself in the pores and scratches of the wood. You would probably find yourself touching up the indelible paint spots with markers or paint to color them to match the hardwood. Casey

Well, I just finished breakfast, but now I want potato pizza, Hong Kong noodles, fish and chips, AND dessert! Last night I fixed a Lancashire Hotpot with beef, onions, potatoes and carrots. This is such an easy dish I don't know why I don't make it more often. I bake mine at 300 for 2 hours or more then up the heat to 375 and remove the cover of the casserole to crisp up the potatoes on top. And...I have leftovers! Today I'm going to make a 15 minute Curry Vegetable soup to use up some broccoli and cauliflower. This is a new recipe to try. At one point last week I had 3 homemade soup recipes in the fridge, which I love because I usually go home for lunch on work days. Lancashire Hot Pot based on the recipe from Marie at The English Kitchen blog Serves 4 I guess you could call this the English version of Irish stew. One pot cooking of the most delicious persuasion. 1 TBS olive oil 750g diced lamb (or beef) 2 onions, peeled and sliced 2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunky pieces 1/2 medium swede (rutabaga) peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces (can omit) 500ml lamb stock 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce 2 sprigs of fresh thyme 750g of potatoes, peeled and cut into thin slices butter sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Pre-heat the oven to 160*C/350*F. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the meat in batches and fry it until browned on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon to a large casserole dish (one with a lid) as it browns. Set aside. Once all the meat it browned and removed from the skillet add the vegetables to the pan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring them occasionally. Return the lamb to the skillet and pour over the stock. Add the Worchestershire sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix it all in well and then carefully pour the mixture back into the casserole dish. Tuck the two sprigs of thyme into the mixture, burying it. Cover the top of the mixture with a layer of half of the sliced potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and then dot with butter. Finish layering with the remaining potatoes and adding a final dusting of salt and pepper and dot once again with some butter. Put the lid on. Bake in the heated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the lid and bake for a further hour until the meat is very tender and the "thatch" is nicely browned in places and tender as well. Serve hot spooned out onto hot plates along with seasonal green vegetables on the side and plenty of crusty bread and butter to mop up the delicious juices.

Is it at all possible you pulled out half a danish from the pastry case? Either way, the ick factor is through the roof on this one! To follow Yaya's story-at my office we have one restroom that is open to the public, the other is a single stall at the other end of the building so it's not used often and is key coded. I stopped in to the public/staff restroom after a meeting-I set down my unopened drink, my pen, a pad of paper and a snack on the table outside the stalls. When I came back out to wash my hands I saw that my drink and my pen were gone-the culprit left behind my pad and snack. I have no idea if it was a coworker or a member of the public, but I never leave so much as a piece of paper on that table any more.

I like apple fritters better than doughnuts, but the ones I madewere good only right after I made them, and they did not reheat well; so I will not post the recipe, as I cannot recommend it for something that travels well. The apple fritters I get at Randy's doughnuts are very good, and they do travel well and taste good cold. Mine are better when warm. If I were to make something to take, I would make cinnamon rolls. I make them with bread dough that I layer with butter (similar to croissants), and then I sprinkle the rectangle of dough with cinnamon sugar and chopped walnuts and roll into a log to cut into rounds. Sometimes I make them fairly small and bake them in muffin tins. Because they have to much butter in them, they do not stick.