Rosie on the House

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Christmas traditions at Rosie's house

Hey y'all!

You think of Rosie on the House as the most popular home-improvement radio show in Arizona.

For me, Rosie on the House means something much more literal.

For the six kids who grew up in Rosie’s house, Christmas officially

began on the Eve with the reading of a Cajun Night Before Christmas, because you know, chere, dem dere flyin' reindeer what you call dem, dey can't fly low through dem cypress kness and Spanish moss, no! Who better to share that story with y'all than my grandpartners, Baby Kay and Dr. Rosie? Here’s an audio recording.
Just click the following link to play
Cajun Night Before Christmas!
*Originally aired on Rosie on the House Christmas Eve 2005.

Shortly after the reading and our second glass of Southern eggnog is when we’d hear Santa Claus on the roof of our Scottsdale home, stomping around in his big, black, cowboy boots, jingling a string of holiday bells and shouting, in a curiously familiar Cajun accent, “Ho, ho, ho!” into the chimney so we’d be sure to hear him as he unloaded our presents from his sleigh.

We were always already tucked into our beds, eyes wide open, hoping that our parents, Rosie and Jennifer, had been wrong when they warned us that Santa never entered the homes of boys and girls who weren’t asleep.

That stompin’ Santa, of course, had Rosie cheeks and a big Rosie voice. And he really did climb up onto the roof every Christmas Eve yelling, “Ho, ho, ho!” to get us kids to go to sleep.

We didn’t. Once the noise trailed off, we raced to the Christmas tree to see what he left. We were up so early, in fact, that our parents had to make a rule: We couldn’t wake them until 5 a.m. — and we had to have the coffee ready when we did.

Then we unwrapped our toys and gag gifts before chowing down on what we’ve always called a

“Joe” breakfast — a skillet of potatoes, onions, eggs, bacon and cheese, watching whichever movie Santa had left us that year and taking a nap. Then it was off to Mama Kay and Papa Rosie’s house, where we spent the rest of Christmas with aunts, uncles and cousins — sometimes 30 or more of us gathered for the day — and more presents and food and singing with Uncle Pierre playing Linus & Lucy from A Charlie Brown Christmas on the piano complimented by the rest of the great family pianists including Aunt Karen and Baby Kay herself!

Like all family Christmases, ours has changed as we’ve gotten older, welcomed new family members and said a sad goodbye to others. But the memories are so crisp, and our traditions — food, music, family — all remain.

I’d like to share some of our Romero family Christmas traditions with you. Starting first with some of my favorite Christmas songs always heard around the holidays...If you are like my sister Rachael, you stared listening to Christmas music back in August...

Artist -> Album -> Favorite Song on Album

Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers -> Once Upon a Christmas -> Once Upon a Christmas
Elvis Presley -> Elvis Christmas -> O Come, All Ye Faithful
Amy Grant -> A Christmas Album -> Heirlooms
Vince Guaraldi Trio -> A Charlie Brown Christmas -> Linus & Lucy
Alabama -> Christmas Volume I -> Christmas in Dixie & Volume II -> Little Drummer Boy
Alan Jackson -> Let it Be Christmas -> Let it Be Christmas
The Carpenters -> Christmas Portrait -> Carol of the Bells
The Nutcracker -> St. Louis Symphony Orchestra -> Waltz of the Flowers

And what would a Romero Christmas be without some good pecans? By popular demand, here’s Mama Kay’s recipe for her famous Cajun-spiced, roasted pecans, along with Rosie's Buttermilk Biscuits and the family secrets on deep-fried turkeys! But make sure you read the safety tips for deep-frying your Christmas turkey first!

I hope your holidays will bring back warm memories for you, too, and that you’ll put a little Cajun spice in this year’s celebration!

Sincerely,

Rosie on the House
www.RosieOnTheHouse.com

Tune in your Radio every Saturday morning!
Call in Number (888) Rosie-4-U

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~Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

A new look at vinyl windows

Hey y’all!

You might want to sit down for this.

Really, I don’t want you to faint dead when you read this.

You’ve heard my dad, Rosie, put down vinyl windows for years and years on Rosie on the House. You’ve javascript:void(0)heard me do it, too, and the reason is simple and logical: Vinyl windows just can’t stand up to the hot Arizona sun.

The sun’s ultraviolet rays can make vinyl windows sag and crack and fade and even chalk—and suffer from what we like to call that ugly vinyl “smile.” Once that happens, your windows will be the only ones at your house with a smile—because you sure won’t be happy.

We’ve always recommended aluminum-clad wood windows—wood windows with a sturdy aluminum armor that resists sun damage on the side that faces outdoors.

So here’s why I wanted you to sit down before you read this: Rosie and I are big believers in the Pella Windows and Doors brand—a brand that traditionally did not make vinyl windows, which typically cost quite a bit less than wood-framed, aluminum-clad windows. Now it does.

Rosie and I took a tour of Pella’s new vinyl window plant in Tucson, where the company makes its new Encompass vinyl windows and patio doors. I have to admit I was impressed.

The Encompass window is made with a steel-reinforced, interlocking sash, and a fully welded frame and sash to prevent heat transfer through the frame. But here’s the biggie: A chemical in the vinyl—called titanium dioxide—inhibits the UV light from causing the window frame to chalk and fade and smile.

Now, I still wouldn’t put vinyl windows in my own home. When I built my house, I chose Pella’s ProLine windows. You guessed it: They’re wood windows with a sturdy aluminum cladding on the outside, so I could stain the wood that’s exposed on the inside but I don’t have to worry about the sun ruining the outside of the windows because of the protective aluminum “skin.”

Those windows are good quality, and they cost a little bit more than vinyl.

Here’s my new thinking: If you can’t afford wood-and-aluminum windows, and you feel that vinyl is really the only kind of window that fits your budget, go ahead and buy Pella’s vinyl windows. They’re not going to be the best windows on the market because they’re made from vinyl. But they’re going to be the best vinyl windows on the market because they’re made by Pella. You can also hear me say this for the record from our October 25th broadcast by downloading this MP3.

The vinyl Encompass window comes with a lifetime guarantee on the frame, so if it starts smiling at you, you can go and smile at someone who works at your local Pella store—where they’ll make good on that guarantee. The window glass is also energy-efficient enough to block 80 percent of the outdoor heat from getting indoors, and it’s backed by a 20-year warranty.

That’s the nicest thing I’ve ever said about vinyl windows.

OK, you can stand up now.

Sincerely,

Sunday, August 10, 2008

The new website launch.

Hey, y’all!

You know me as Rosie’s son and co-host on our Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio show. You also might know that I’m pretty good with my hands, be it with a tool belt or computer. I am an Arizona native raised by a Cajun family on my Daddy's side and by an Irish family on my Mama's side, and I'm proud of both!

Right now, I’m proud of launching the new Rosie on the House Web site in August. This newly designed, newly content-rich Web site has been my “baby.” I had a lot of help from the Rosie on the House team, of course, but I devoted months and months of planning and ideas as I worked with our new Web partner. i-ology.

One of the site’s new features is this blog. This is our first-ever blog, and we're planning to use it to share our thoughts about everything from home improvement tips to hot remodeling trends to our family’s secret recipes for down-home Cajun cooking. (OK, we might only give away half of the secret recipes). We’ll blog about the Rosie on the House show, about the experiences Rosie and I have working with Habitat for Humanity and about some of the great, indepth ideas our listeners bring to our attention when they call us on the air or submit an idea for a show..

I hope you’ll enjoy our blog every month and let us know what you think. Send Romey (me) your ideas and we’ll blog about them. And check our Web site often. This redesign is just Phase 1 of a three-phase makeover!

While you’re on our new Web site, have a look around. Here are some of my personal favorites on the site:

Romey’s Pick #1: Did you know Rosie has a Referral Network that includes a list of the Arizona home-improvement contractors he thinks are the best in the state? If you need a plumber, drywaller, remodeler, HVAC guy--anyone to help you with a home-improvement, maintenance or building project--you’ll find someone here who’s so good that Rosie & I would (and do) hire him to work on own homes. Go to the Home Page and click on “Let’s Find a Rosie-Certified Parnter.” You’ll be asked to choose a password the first time you log on so you can enter the Referral Network without any hassle in the future.

Romey’s Pick #2: If you want to do your job yourself, you can get lots of help from our “See How It’s Done” section, which offers you step-by-step instructions--with photos--for projects like flattoo imprinting and building an Integra wall. Click on “Learn from Rosie” to see our small-but-growing list of “See How It’s Done” topics. This is a new feature and will more than likely be our largest area of growth in the next six months!

Romey’s Pick #3: Check out our frequently asked questions (FAQs) about dozens of home-improvement topics. Our new site makes it easier for you to find the information you need because we have added subcategories to narrow down broad categories like plumbing and flooring. That means less searching and scrolling for you! Click on “Learn from Rosie” to see our huge library of FAQs.

Our Web site will continue to evolve as we add new features that bring you the best of 20 years of Rosie on the House.

We aim to keep RosieOnTheHouse.com Arizona’s premier Web site for homeowners. If there is something missing that you are personally looking for, drop us a line and let us know what y’all would like to see. It's as easy as clicking here to Contact Us!

Sincerely,

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