Possible Move to the Dark Side???

The Ferengi of Star Trek have a rule of acquisition:

Peace is good for business. War is good for business.

Her at TPG we rephrase this:

Good economy is good for business. Bad economy is good for business.

Normally in bad times like this we do a lot of crisis management and turnaround work and this is no different except that with the banks having so many charge offs it is a lot easier to get them to make concessions.

I got a call from one of the banks in town asking if my firm would be a court appointed receiver for a liquidation. First time I've ever been contacted by the bank's side to represent them. Hmmmm Darth de-I - Sith Lord of business liquidations?

The Towers Revealed

Welcome - finally - to the

Podolny Towers at White Cloud
home of the
Podolny Group World Headquarters

First just a reminder of what things were like before the project began.

The homestead/home office/hacienda on the day we started construction

The hallway going North just after entering

The room just next to the entryway

AND NOW

THE PODOLNY TOWERS AT WHITE CLOUD

As you enter
(like the nice reflection of yours truly in the glass?)

Entering the Towers

Looking to the North where the room shown above was

The hallway previously shown

Heading up into the Towers

Looking into the Sanctum Santorum of Mrs. de-I

And down the hall to PGWHQ

The PGWHQ Brain Center

No executive washroom is complete without a shower
(already broken in by Chicago partner Ricardo)

Of course a fitness center is a requirement in this day and age

View looking North from the Eastern Porch

View looking Southeast from the Western Porch
(not the best day for taking view pictures - will have more when it's nicer)

We still have a lot more unpacking, cleaning and decorating to do but I have tell you...it is really fabulous and we are really glad we did it :)

No Pictures Yet

Because it is taking forever to get ourselves moved in. The big stuff was all done but their boxes to be unpacked and put away, files to be refiled. Downstairs there are 15 boxes of books (some not unpacked since we moved to this house 7 years ago) that are going into the library.

We are a one couple stimulus plan buying two new TV's (that's 100% more than we've purchased over the last 15 years), bookcases for the library, a new sofa for the living room, blinds for the new addition, carpet cleaning for all the rugs. (pant, pant, pant)

Fortunately work is still very, very strong. We're getting the shaft on our ending home appraisal because the industry is so freaked out. The appraisal for our ending mortgage came in 11% less than the one done for the construction loan done just in October. That means we'll be pay PMI. But we'll still have a rate lower than our previous mortgage.

Happening Right Now!

We are moving into our new space!

We've had two movers this morning and in two hours they got desks, filing cabinets, boxes, files, printers, sofa, TVs, treadmills, and more upstairs...and not a scratch anywhere. Well done guys.

Now we have IT over and we're getting all the computers and phones set up. In fact I am posting this using our network right here.

I've decided that my new business digs which because of our location in the city is substantially higher than any other advice firm in the city deserves a new name totally in keeping with it's grandeur.

Podolny Group World Headquarters located in The Podolny Towers at White Cloud

I love it. Reminds me of these pretentious buildings in Dallas.

Inspiration

I got my inspiration for dinner tonight from my daughter, Pulisha, and a recipe she got from a blogger named Stacey Snacks. Pu is excellent at finding recipes that can be done quickly as she works and has a big family but still loves to eat well. The recipe they were writing about used roasted cherry tomatoes as a sauce for pasta.

Following their discussion of the advantages of roasting veggies (easy, brings out lots of flavor), I was inspired to make a pasta based on a roasted sauce as well. As with my inspirations, I had had a very busy day (hiking, getting house ready for moving into the new add-on, shopping for new tv's) so I wanted to do something quick.

My idea was to make a roasted salmon, asparagus and garlic pasta.

In concept this is a very easy dish. I roasted the salmon, asparagus, and garlic together while I cooked the pasta. My sauce used the roasted garlic with some of the pasta water, chicken stock base and wine. I finished the pasta with parsley, oregano from our garden (doing well in the early spring) and some fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Pictures:

I peel the lower part of the asparagus which can be tough and fiberous

The Salmon, Aspargus, and Garlic Ready for Roasting
The garlic is in large pieces. I put extra olive oil on everything because I used it in my sauce.

The Wine, Chicken Stock Base, and Fresh Herbs

Salmon, Asparagus, and Garlic Post-Roasting (425 degrees for 15 minutes)

The Pasta Water with Chicken Stock Base, Wine and Garlic
I blended this together with my immersion blender. My daughter Motherrocker pushed me to get this tool. They're not expensive at all, very versitile and much easier to clean than regular blenders or food processors.

The Finishing Touches
My asparagus and salmon cut up with my chopped herbs

The Finished Dish

Announcing...

...the end of our remodel project!!!

Yes, tomorrow is the official end of the construction. Both of us but especially Wife are sooooo ready to not have to share our house each morning with people and to get all of our stuff out of three rooms and most of all, get into our new space.

We decided that we don't want the moving in process to drag out so we've hired a couple of mover guys to come in on Monday morning to move everything all over the house to where we want it. The IT guys come in the afternoon and hook up the office and by the end of the day we should be in business.

I'm planning a full tour pictorial post next week.

Not Abducted

Just working like a maniac