tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40887808015315797732023-11-15T22:21:25.059-08:00Old SchoolOld Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.comBlogger493125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-56231331904978496492018-09-16T22:43:00.001-07:002018-09-16T22:43:05.995-07:00Might freeze tonightSo I'm sitting here listening to music, loud.<br />
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Janiva Magness, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGpMkNeq9fM" target="_blank">Eat the Lunch You Brought</a>."<br />
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Clara Ward Singers, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WncaBaKjlAg" target="_blank">Traveling Shoes</a>."<br />
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Bonnie Raitt and Ruthie Foster, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnCX5OvBfD8" target="_blank">Angel From Montgomery</a>."<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">John Hiatt, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv__tQt-QFQ" target="_blank">Tiki Bar</a>."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ruthie Foster, "</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95diTRZYsI0" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Death Came A-Knocking.</a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"</span><br />
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<yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer x-scope yt-formatted-string-2"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Leslie West, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPE-L1Chogo" target="_blank">Stormy Monday</a>." </span></yt-formatted-string></div>
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<yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer x-scope yt-formatted-string-2"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Leonard Cohen, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEQldSi-heE" target="_blank">Everybody Knows</a>."</span></yt-formatted-string></div>
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<yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer x-scope yt-formatted-string-2"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Ruthie Foster and Robben Ford, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDQyEwGKTr4" target="_blank">Stormy Monday</a>."</span></yt-formatted-string></div>
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<yt-formatted-string class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer x-scope yt-formatted-string-2"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Vaughn Brothers, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TliB8KRS3KI" target="_blank">White Boots</a>."</span></yt-formatted-string></div>
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We're betting that freezing temperatures won't hit the garden tonight. The forecast says 34 degrees, with patches of frost in the valleys. Some years we gallop madly around draping plastic sheeting over the tenderest plants, but I think we'll play it cool and just pick all the green tomatoes when the forecast looks more serious. Fingers crossed, because we have a lot of green fruit out there.<br />
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I picked almost-ripe tomatoes today, and green beans and a few strawberries. And brought in the potted plants.<br />
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Yesterday we hit the book sale, then hauled in 25 very heavy cabbages. I'm hoping to give some of those cabbages away, since we have a 10-gallon crock of sauerkraut percolating in the kitchen, as well as a batch of cabbage-rich borscht in jars in the pantry. And there are a few more cabbages in the garden!<br />
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C. canned 10 pints of chili sauce.Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-74411844807886163512018-09-11T13:50:00.002-07:002018-09-11T13:50:21.841-07:00Bug nutWhen I was a secretive bookworm child, I had a sign that swiveled out from between books on my desk bookshelf and said 'BUGOLOGIST.' I'd made it with cardboard and one of those 1970s label-makers that punched raised letters into a bright colored adhesive strip – remember those?<br />
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We found a big ol' preying mantis on the porch the other day, and took pictures. </div>
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I guess I'm still a bugologist.</div>
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<br />Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-39101014979155284592018-09-03T01:05:00.001-07:002018-09-03T01:05:47.465-07:00Catching upWell, summer has been and gone, and all kinds of stuff has happened.<br />
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C. adopted a new dog. That's her on the right. She's a 15-year-old Maltese-poodle mix, toothless, bouncy and deaf as a post.<br />
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She is very demanding. C. calls her Imelda. </div>
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My plan for zero population growth in the chicken house was a bust. Every day when I collected eggs, I poked under the three setting hens. There were never any eggs, and rummaging under their feathery butts seemed, well, rude. So I quit. And the little fiends managed to lay and/or steal a dozen eggs, and hatch six chicks. I'm sure all six are hens. Really. Damn.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skeeter and one of her three chicks.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hairdo sisters hatched three between them, but Skeeter stole one.</td></tr>
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The garden has been amazing. We got our first tomato, a Dzvin, on July 21. We've had a steady supply since – tiny cherries, huge pink Prudent Purples, meaty plums... C. has a batch of herbed tomato sauce in the canner now. Yesterday she canned a batch of choke-cherry syrup from fruit she picked from the roof. And she made and canned catsup for the first time. Delicious. And chili sauce, which is basically spicier catsup, full of tomatillos, peppers and garlic. </div>
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She's kept rabbit greens, sunflower seeds, shell beans and all kinds of other stuff rotating through the food driers. </div>
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And our boy was up the other day and put his chef skills to work chopping cabbage for kraut.</div>
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The house is full of food, which is just how I like it.</div>
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More later.</div>
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Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-2738275776440448472018-07-12T15:06:00.003-07:002018-07-12T15:06:29.360-07:00Midsummer<span style="font-family: inherit;">The days pass in a flurry of pea-picking. I pick peas every day, and often spend evenings shelling peas, or getting snap peas ready for the drier or the canner.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />C. got the pressure canner out for the first time yesterday, and did two batches of – wait for it – peas. We freeze most of our shelled peas, but canned (mushy!) peas tasted good last winter, so we're doing a few jars.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />We've harvested a couple of small, sweet cabbages (White Moskovskaya), lots and lots of salad greens, one summer squash, and alpine strawberries so far this year. And peas. I love peas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The huge old lavender bush flowered and we cut and dried a bunch. C. has been drying greens for rabbit hay for a while now, as well as cherries from Emma, herbs for us and greens for dogs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And Bowie, the rubber boa snake, is still here! We caught him moseying toward the chicken house, looking for some young mice or gophers to eat. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've seen the toad, as well. These two are very welcome here, unlike deer, mosquitos and raccoons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's too hot to garden until evening. I go out and change the water lines, and come back in to the semi-cool to read. I've discovered the online library at </span>opencatalog.org, and use the app Aldiko to read on my cell phone. They have many medieval mysteries, which I'm into lately.<br />
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So I'm still here! And will try to post about some of our more interesting happenings soon.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-69933858254874479432018-05-22T15:53:00.000-07:002018-05-22T16:07:58.156-07:00A month into the gardenWe've been crazy busy getting the garden in – spring came early, and we haven't had a frost in weeks.<br />
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Nearly all of the tender plants have been set out, the bush beans are just up, and my watering system (known as Aunt Flo) is working, and wonderful. What it isn't, is beautiful. I figure we can work on that next year. And C. is planning to plant some vines on it to shield it from UV rays, and soften its ugly.<br />
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Here is the manifold, Aunt Flo's brain. Ignore the draped pipes and baskets of parts – I'll put those away as soon as I get every little plant on a dripper.<br />
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The white pipe and valves are all recycled from my last failed attempt at a watering system, an unglued PVC setup from the University of Utah. On our rough slope, the lines cracked on the rocks and fittings popped apart even after I glued them. It was a mess.<br />
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They do work in their new configuration as a manifold, though, sending water off to eight different zones on three-quarter- and half-inch poly pipe. I have patched together parts collected over the last 30 years: all five sizes of half-inch pipe (that is not a joke) in three colors, three sizes of soaker hose, skinny quarter-inch line and plug-in emitters, and my recent purchase of 1,000 feet of drip tape.<br />
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It is a crazy quilt of watery goodness. Now C. can say, "The beans look dry – put Aunt Flo on the yellow line," and we have water on the beans, without dragging the hose around. All it took was $300 in new bits and a month of my (slow) labor. It's not quite complete, but it works. That is monumental. We'll make it a little better every year. I'll be looking for parts at estate and farm sales! And I might take some old garden hoses and drill holes in them to get water on the sun chokes for now. Yes, I am proud of finally getting a working system in, and embarrassed that it took so many years. And so much money!<br />
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So we've got the garden mostly in, and mostly watered. Next we need to get mulch on everything.<br />
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Here are the tomatoes, some on old ladders and some with stakes. We grow the indeterminate kind that get HUGE, so they need to be tied up to stakes or to sticks running between the ladders.<br />
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Here is our little field-corn patch.<br />
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And here are the guineas in the chunnel.<br />
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<br />Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-48888035513188105432018-04-21T20:45:00.001-07:002018-04-21T21:07:07.910-07:00Sunny April daysThe last few days have been gorgeous and warm, so we've been out in the garden. It feels so great to work in the warm sunshine – back in February I was sure it would never be warm out again. Silly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShuRM0gviLVwDjYPBze8JPesDqxyF4B19NWl5YH0lJbPP0FiiOCCJb3juTd5Y7b7nLMavdOY6vAYaL6UYHrV7PCrmZg1wIb-awiT27fHWPd9mhwdD0-2dqXke3dxT00mxTAV5oTvnLRg4/s1600/peas+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="1000" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShuRM0gviLVwDjYPBze8JPesDqxyF4B19NWl5YH0lJbPP0FiiOCCJb3juTd5Y7b7nLMavdOY6vAYaL6UYHrV7PCrmZg1wIb-awiT27fHWPd9mhwdD0-2dqXke3dxT00mxTAV5oTvnLRg4/s400/peas+-+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planting Lincoln peas (my favorite). C. places the brush trellis, I add the <br />
soaker hose, and we plant a zigzag row on each side.</td></tr>
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Over the last three weeks we got all the peas in. That's three long rows of Lincoln shell peas, and three of Cascadia snap peas. Oh, and there's an 8-foot row of Sugar Hearts, since we had some seed left from last year.<br />
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The next day, the chickens and guineas scratched out and ate one whole row of pea seed, so I replanted, and now the birds are confined to the chicken yard. I felt sorry for them, though, and put up a "chunnel" along one side of the garden fence so they can booble around and eat greens and bugs. Not peas, though. I'll get a photo of it. It's just a line of cedar 2x2s from an old deck railing leaned onto the fence and covered with chicken wire.<br />
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C. has a row of spuds in, as well as patches of spinach, lettuce, carrots and some other stuff. Some of the tomato seedlings in The Monstrosity (seed-starting set-up) have grown so big she's started potting them up and moving them to the greenhouse. We've got a heat cable out there, so it's pretty warm and they seem very happy. She started some squash seeds and some corn inside today.<br />
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I hauled three buckets of alpaca poo over from the barn for potting mix. C. adds compost, garden soil,vermiculite and some commercial potting soil. We've got lots of tomatoes to repot over the next few weeks, plus peppers and tomatillos and... We'll need lots.<br />
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Our (optimistic) last frost date is around May 15, and then there will be a mad rush to get everything in the ground.<br />
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I've been moving strawberry plants to the edges of the terraces so I can pick them from below. It beats the heck out of wallowing through a big patch of them.<br />
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I'm working on the watering system, laying down drip tape, drip hose or soaker hose as C. plants each area. The kids are coming up tomorrow, so I'm hoping they will help me get the irrigation manifold set up on posts, and I can start connecting the lines. I do have a secret fear that, like last year and the year before, my watering system will be a failure, and we'll be dragging hoses around – despite buying 1,000 feet of drip tape. We'll see. It is amusing to measure the beds for hoses – some are 37 feet long, some 43 and 24. We obviously did not lay the garden out on a grid, spaced for standard hose lengths. We just kind of did it. By eye, by golly, like good hippies. So it's a good thing we are doing a custom watering system.<br />
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C. is feeling poorly, her knee twinging and her right wrist still in a brace. She soldiers on, though I detect crabbiness on occasion.<br />
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Yesterday I ventured into the crawl space to turn the outside faucets on. (Surely, smart people such as ourselves could come up with a system accessible from the main floor, no?) It's complicated, even for those without MS. I drop a stepladder into the crawlspace under the new part of the building (circa 1955), creep down and close up the PEX line. Then I heave myself out, over to the old entryway and down into the old crawlspace (1936), past several beams to turn on the line. Then there is always some kind of problem (usually a frost-cracked line) and I turn it off and crawl back out, over to the new space to fix the problem and back to the old side to turn it on again. It's more tedious than it sounds, and I usually have some kind of meltdown, especially when my helper is listening to loud music instead of my hollers for assistance. Harrumph.<br />
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But I did prevail, and now the hoses work. No more hauling buckets of water to the big animals!<br />
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It's good. There is much to do. I'm tired.<br />
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<br />Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-49687573842133401582018-03-29T16:19:00.000-07:002018-03-29T16:19:15.633-07:00Spring fussing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We're keeping busy with garden prep work here. The garden still has a bit of snow and lots of winter detritus, so we're doing our gardening indoors.<br />
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I've built a big ugly shelving unit in the dining room for starting seeds. It's covered with quarter-inch hardware cloth to keep the mice out, and is made from pallet wood and scraps, so it is no thing of beauty. We call it the cage, or the monstrosity. It holds 12 flats, and could hold four more if I added a shelf and more lights.<br />
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The fixtures are ordinary (cheap!) 4-foot fluorescent shop lights, converted to LEDs (I just ripped out the ballasts and did a little simple rewiring). The bulbs should last and stay bright for years and years, which is good since they are $10 each. I bought four bulbs last year and eight this year from <a href="http://www.hyperikon.com/" target="_blank">these guys</a>. The bulbs are wonderful, with plastic and metal covers instead of glass. (I'm not a fan of plastic, generally, but if you've ever had a glass fluorescent tube break and scatter thin shards everywhere, you'll appreciate these, too. Be sure to buy 5000K frosted bulbs if you plan to start seeds under them. The fixtures came from yard sales – and I bummed a few from DD Emma. They can be beat up and non-working, as long as the wires and "tombstone" bulb-holders are in decent shape.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiny tomato plants</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The yellow hose at left is for watering. It hooks up to the kitchen tap.</td></tr>
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So we're puttering. The wood stove is still going, since it's chilly, if not downright cold.<br />
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Em is on a five-day road trip, so we're watching her three dogs. I did try to talk her into taking the dogs along, and leaving 2-year-old Liam with us, but noooooooo.<br />
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It isn't great fun since Lola, the black shepherd, is well-behaved but can't be trusted with chickens and Arnold, the Basenji/kangaroo, has a hideous bark/howl/chirp that he uses way too much, may run off, and will lift his leg in the house. Bono, the scratchy little Shih Tzu mix, is good as gold but will pine for his person. So Arnie is staying outside with Earl, and we try to be extra attentive with Bono.<br />
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I am trying to love Arnold, but it is a hard road.<br />
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We went to town yesterday to dig up more of our cottage garden at the Ancestral Home. Our grown boy, who is in the process of buying the place (fingers crossed!), is not a gardener and plans to replace the roses, shrubs and perennials – with lawn.<br />
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I know. I know. We tried to raise him right. I blame society. And maybe the public schools.<br />
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On the positive side, he is a kind and considerate person, adores his little family and is good to his ancient parents.<br />
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So we dug plants, and marveled at our 18-month-old granddaughter who rampaged through the house and climbed onto the coffee table to dance. This made me so tired I had to go home and lie down.<br />
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C. is working on putting the rescued plants into the ground. I'm still traumatized at the thought of keeping up with that terrifying and very cute toddler. Sheesh.<br />
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<br />Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-942199050569188012018-03-14T01:12:00.002-07:002018-03-14T01:12:59.682-07:00It's here!The weather has been beautiful – 56 degrees yesterday – and the snow is on the run. It's spring!<br />
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I parked myself in front of the south wall with a cup of tea and just basked in the glory that is the sun. Beautiful.<br />
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Then I rushed over and cut up a bunch of old fenceposts into firewood with the reciprocating saw, and hauled 100 pounds of chicken food to the chicken house, and a big bag of oats and one of potting soil into the house. And swept the porch (but not very well, because, despite the giddy excitement of the season, I'm still a slob).<br />
<br />
Spring is good. I feel like doing something! which is quite a relief. I thought I might just sit in the recliner and brood forever. And watch bad television. And glower out the window at the damn snow.<br />
<br />
Spring is here! I've just ordered a bunch of drip irrigation gear because, this year, we are going to have an irrigation system in the garden. Jump back – it's a giddy woman with a credit card!<br />
<br />
Life is good.Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-24806228326286028982018-02-26T20:39:00.000-08:002018-02-26T20:39:16.197-08:00AdviceAs an older person, I am often tempted to give young folks advice, so that they may benefit from my many years of experience (mistakes, I mean). Even though I <i>know</i> that people <i>can't </i>learn from others' mistakes, and have to go out and make their own versions. I know this because I was never able to learn from my parents' advice (which explains a lot about some early boyfriends).<br />
<br />
It's sad. That's why human civilization is stalled, struggling with the same issues, generation after generation. Sigh.<br />
<br />
But if I were to give advice, it would go like this:<br />
<br />
Never buy a horse named Nipper.<br />
<br />
Never pick the puppy called Crybaby.<br />
<br />
Don't take the cat named Shit Cat.<br />
<br />
There.<br />
<br />
What advice do you have to offer the world?<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-54922945920329331322018-02-19T18:09:00.000-08:002018-02-19T18:09:14.860-08:00Down, inner gardener!Just as I was coming back to life with all kinds of projects and garden plans, an arctic system has dumped a foot of snow and sent temperatures plummeting.<br />
<br />
So it's back to winter mode, stoking the fire and reading and NOT thinking about spring. That's right, I'm NOT thinking about spring. Furiously. Take that, winter.<br />
<br />
I made the rounds, feeding and watering everybody, and hauled a wagon of wood in. That's it for work today.<br />
<br />
I signed up for a free trial of Hulu TV, lured by the promise of D.I.Y. shows. We don't have enough wifi bandwidth, though. I'm frustrated by the pauses in every show (though the commercials seem to play perfectly) and by what passes for entertainment these days. It's really gone downhill. I used to watch HGTV, and enjoyed visiting artists' funky houses, and watching D.I.Y. shows that explained how to do all kinds of home projects – laying and refinishing wood floors, designing gardens, building furniture and so forth. Now it's all "reality" competitions that pit teams of attention-starved designers against each other. Oh! the fake drama! The judges are realtors (I refuse to capitalize that word), and the highest appraisal (all hail, almighty dollar!) is the only criteria. Dumpsters are filled – nobody recycles anything. There is crying and bitchiness. Ack. Every interior looks the same (grey is apparently the only color anybody paints anything, including children's rooms), and the women all have horrible Valley Girl voices, or maybe adenoid problems. Homeowners don't do any of their own work. And a big feature is made of "demo day," with dumbasses smashing walls with sledgehammers and howling like drunken fans at sports events.<br />
<br />
TV has become (even more) profoundly stupid. Who would have thought it was possible?<br />
<br />
Sheesh. I sound like an old person.<br />
<br />
So it's back to the bookshelf, until spring, anyway.<br />
<br />
Keep warm!<br />
<br />
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<br />Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-30677661141380365742018-02-15T20:27:00.000-08:002018-02-15T20:27:14.405-08:00February is the longest monthSpring is just around the corner. The corner way, way down over there. I can almost see it. Just on the other side of that pile of snow...<br />
<br />
C. started onion seeds, and they've popped up in their skinny glory. They are Dakota Tears, from Fedco, and good keepers. We had storage problems with our usual varieties over the winter, so we're trying this one.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4eKGdPDLKBnXAdyFg_I_FhQpSheQiSWWtBmsSOjYKbAeVTfnUEiqYQ1S4RxvMAVg_tYxvhsg0Qb3TQv95WqygDVSz19CgIoDRPGOZUTYKyqEmuM6mVfCct0_vIcL8JBsLzewBE8h2W-3/s1600/onion+hairs+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="1000" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4eKGdPDLKBnXAdyFg_I_FhQpSheQiSWWtBmsSOjYKbAeVTfnUEiqYQ1S4RxvMAVg_tYxvhsg0Qb3TQv95WqygDVSz19CgIoDRPGOZUTYKyqEmuM6mVfCct0_vIcL8JBsLzewBE8h2W-3/s640/onion+hairs+-+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wire is to ward off mice, who like to decapitate a whole flat of seedlings at a time.</td></tr>
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Come May, C. will be humped up over the onion bed, poking these little guys into the soil. Kind of like doing a hair implant.</div>
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The kids have been up several times lately, and Liam has been happy and engaged, making lots of eye contact with his old grandmas, and having fun. We've finally figured out his sense of humor, and make him laugh and laugh. We try to stop before he barfs.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYzhnlSSXarfpvIaLWBq_C4JlFClO0IEBn_ae-fx1l5Cndh7PQLOebC0kpN8jGfo8ONDh8phcABd-8UpBKDbzbnaa2dbbQLc6lAii8pgBv_R7-oDvrcyOmVn65S6zvjLjJqa0PafzJWl9/s1600/lr2+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="735" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYzhnlSSXarfpvIaLWBq_C4JlFClO0IEBn_ae-fx1l5Cndh7PQLOebC0kpN8jGfo8ONDh8phcABd-8UpBKDbzbnaa2dbbQLc6lAii8pgBv_R7-oDvrcyOmVn65S6zvjLjJqa0PafzJWl9/s320/lr2+-+1.jpg" width="235" /></a></div>
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<br />
What a great kid!<br />
<br />
I've been working on my income taxes, which is a huge and ugly undertaking. This is my first year as a disabled person, and I am struggling with the rules, the forms, the tables, and the obfuscation of any kind of sense behind the thing. I may need professional help. And therapy, afterward.<br />
<br />
It's chilly – I think the building has finally internalized the cold, so it takes a long time to warm the old heap of bricks.<br />
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Come on, spring!<br />
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<br />Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-11595284641655533792018-02-02T16:39:00.004-08:002018-02-02T16:39:40.306-08:00Feeling worseStill have the bloody cold. Coughing. Watching TV. Reading. Whining. That's pretty much it.<br />
<br />
Lo.Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-14288920737681881482018-01-19T17:59:00.000-08:002018-01-19T17:59:25.407-08:00Feeling betterI've spent days coughing and lolling in the recliner, watching television. <br />
<br />
I've observed hours and hours of home repair and woodworking. I love that stuff.<br />
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And we've found some pretty weird shows on Netflix, like 'The Sniffer," a Ukranian crime series. The actors speak Russian, and the special effects are kinda cool, but basically you spend a lot of time watching a trendy guy with a bad attitude and a superhuman sense of smell as he puts things in his nose and takes them out. We watched one episode.<br />
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I've come to love "Brojects," a show about two adult Nova Scotian (Scotious?) brothers who make up silly projects and build them, while bickering and pulling pranks. I know it sounds dumb, and it <i>is</i> kind of dumb, but it celebrates do-it-yourselfishness and sibling rivalry in a charming way. For instance, they built a roof patio with ping-table, telescope stand, dumbwaiter and a station for fishing for chicken wings. I might borrow some of their dumbwaiter ideas. And they bought an old woody station wagon and turned it into a surf wagon, complete with solar shower, dressing room and grill, and converted a canoe into a paddle board (sort of). They use a lot of plywood, 2x4s (whatever they call them up there) and PVC pipe. It's inventive, goofy and mostly good-spirited.<br />
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And we've got Amazon Prime, too. "How Did You Do That?" is a sweet D.I.Y. show from New Zealand. The team takes a standard rundown old beach shack (or "bach") and transforms it into something cool over one season. The kiwi accents are very thick but charming, and projects range from paint effects to building a pizza oven, and making chairs from driftwood and twine. I might want to build that pizza oven.<br />
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And then there's "Shaun the Sheep." Great show. It's claymation, and follows the adventures of Shaun and his flock on the farm. Funny, silly, sweet.<br />
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That's what I've been doing. Watching TV, and eating a lot of chocolate chips.<br />
<br />
And while I'm pretty much over the cold, I might sneak in a little "Shaun" or "Brojects" now and then.<br />
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<br />Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-52710253138294918272018-01-09T23:51:00.001-08:002018-01-09T23:51:47.395-08:00FehThis cold, which has been no big deal, has suddenly knocked me for a loop. I'm installed in the recliner, sucking on cough drops and reading, when I'm not whining. C., bless her heart, is waiting on me. That woman can cook!<br />
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More when I recover.Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-33312831348622595112018-01-06T18:25:00.001-08:002018-01-06T18:25:26.051-08:002017 in reviewI suppose it's time to look back over the year and see how we did. And plan to do better in 2018!<br />
<br />
<b>Successes</b><br />
Chicken and guinea birth control<br />
We had zero population growth this year, thanks to keeping the birds confined during most of the summer, and hunting out guinea nests. Since we had to sequester our four extra roosters to keep them from abusing the little hens, <i>no more roosters</i> is a good thing! And no frozen baby guineas in October is also a good thing. And <i>no more guineas</i> is a good thing – 25 is plenty.<br />
<br />
We could use more hens and eggs, though. And feeding and watering the separate colony of roosters is a pain. Also, Bob across the road says the crowing from bachelor quarters is a problem, so we'll have to move the boys this spring. We wouldn't have this problem if we were carnivores.<br />
<br />
The garden was wonderfully productive.<br />
<br />
Guineas kept tick and grasshopper populations down.<br />
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Worming the goats helped improve coats.<br />
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<br />
<b>Failures</b><br />
We had three hen deaths this year. Maybe due to the obnoxious guineas? Maybe separate the guineas from chickens?<br />
<br />
Garden watering system was a fail. Again.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>MS in 2017</b><br />
I've had some progression over the year. My left hand is less able, and my walking a bit worse. I'm still walking, though, and still able to do wood and animal chores. And I've finally accepted having this disease, I think, so I can spend less time angry and resentful, and get on with it.<br />
<br />
My friend Sandra sent me a book by a guy with MS, and it helped. It's "Challenging the Dragon" by Jim Havelock, and while it's not well-written or edited (sorry, but as a former journalist and copy editor, this matters to me), it is heartfelt. I was thinking about the book a lot, and on Dec. 6 I decided to be happy. Just generally. Immediately felt better in a weird way. And still do. What the hell, ay?<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Plans for next year</b><br />
Install a watering system in the garden. Really. A functional one. No joke.<br />
<br />
Apply for historic-building status, and then for grants to fix the damn roof.<br />
<br />
Get the alpaca sheared. It will get ugly. Do it anyway.<br />
<br />
Install a frost-free hydrant in the pasture so I won't have to carry water in the winter.<br />
<br />
Install gutters on the barn to save water for the animals.<br />
<br />
Install heat in the studios.<br />
<br />
Fence at least part of the lower field so we can rotate the big animals in the pastures.<br />
<br />
Install "chunnels" or chicken tunnels around the garden fence so the confined birds can eat more bugs and be less bored.<br />
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Hire some help.<br />
_____________________________________<br />
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<br />
Here's to 2018. I hope it's good for all of us.<br />
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<br />Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-78600630720848088932018-01-06T17:49:00.002-08:002018-01-06T17:49:52.580-08:00Into the new yearHere we are. It's been warmer, which is nice.<br />
<br />
Our new neighbors, who turn out to be our old neighbors from town (which is weird), came down unasked and plowed the six inches of new snow off the driveway and the big berm at the road with their vintage blue Ford tractor. Sweet. Gave them gas money. We got to know them 20 years ago when all our teenage girls were being horrible and we carpooled to Tough Love meetings. Tough Love is a support group you join when your teenagers are being horrible. Good support, good advice, good company in hard times. Bad coffee, though.<br />
<br />
And all three horrible teens are now nice, responsible women with kids of their own. (Evil laugh.) (Not really.) (Well, maybe really.)<br />
<br />
A plowed driveway restored my driving confidence, and Earl and I hit Deer Park Wednesday for chicken food and other essentials.<br />
<br />
C. is better. Thanks for your kind wishes. She brought a cold home from the clinic, of course, and we're both getting over that. One good thing about getting old is that you rarely catch the colds and flus going around, but this one nailed us.<br />
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As soon as we're all done being sick, we'll have the kids up for our post-Christmas Christmas.<br />
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The dachshund rocker is progressing, and now C. is working on furry ears and tail. I don't sew, but she does, and very well. The tail is attached in an amusing way – I'll post pictures when it's done. Still trying to figure out how to attach the ears in a way safe for a toddler. Screws and washers might not do.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQyKldz1rRMDBP0fIVGpPo4vP6-TMA3nYu7Mkf6Zni71WhsQ6BqkRzggln6th4Q7t_VabIZs72uI4kvcflZvFzUrcNOCY82ZdnzRooEYKHQUMNA4dEskvnStxreVM_fmSjR9Uaif7Q-2YT/s1600/ear+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="566" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQyKldz1rRMDBP0fIVGpPo4vP6-TMA3nYu7Mkf6Zni71WhsQ6BqkRzggln6th4Q7t_VabIZs72uI4kvcflZvFzUrcNOCY82ZdnzRooEYKHQUMNA4dEskvnStxreVM_fmSjR9Uaif7Q-2YT/s320/ear+-+1.jpg" width="181" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C. trims the fake fur from the edge of an ear before sewing it to a silky lining, and turning it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhjJc9Kl6rphdj-aYVSsyoHztmf0vrVGyR2UPfg9JZXZzz2At-V26k8ZiSwvBJDiPzppVBkFqE4I1NPochyphenhyphenjzyOdNSKi4Gc5U-rwPWYO0qlCekfLIk3YN_xuK4XC7GVDhssDSE_vRk6Qp/s1600/rockers+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="1000" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhjJc9Kl6rphdj-aYVSsyoHztmf0vrVGyR2UPfg9JZXZzz2At-V26k8ZiSwvBJDiPzppVBkFqE4I1NPochyphenhyphenjzyOdNSKi4Gc5U-rwPWYO0qlCekfLIk3YN_xuK4XC7GVDhssDSE_vRk6Qp/s320/rockers+-+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The base, ready for stain and sealing.</td></tr>
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We muddle along; muddle-dee-doo, muddle-dee-doo, as Kurt Vonnegut would say.<br />
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Here are a couple of gratuitous wiener-dog shots. Though they like the old leopard-spotted throw, they are well pleased with the new super-silky grey fleece blanket we got for Christmas.<br />
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<br />Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-13590696064565909132017-12-31T20:49:00.000-08:002017-12-31T20:55:25.871-08:00Where did Christmas go?It disappeared somewhere after I found an excellent recipe for gluten-free <a href="https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/soft-chewy-gluten-free-ginger-cookies/" target="_blank">ginger cookies</a>. Having learned my lesson, I made a single batch to test the recipe. It was <i>wonderful</i>. And I don't even like most ginger stuff. But these cookies were dark and rich and chewy and intense, almost like chocolate. And pretty. So I made a quadruple batch for my holiday mailings. Mmmm.<br />
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Then C. got sick. We drove in to the CHAS Clinic (she doesn't have insurance) in Deer Park, and the bastards refused to see her as we were eight minutes late (I slid off the driveway in six inches of fresh wet snow and had to cowboy my way out in the Subaru). And we didn't call (C., bless her heart, is plumb unable to get the cell phone to work though she tried repeatedly.) So they blew us off. In a rural area after a winter storm. I was shocked.<br />
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So we went to urgent care, which costs a bundle. C. got antibiotics for mastitis, and we crept home.<br />
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So C. is now really quite sick with this infection. (Or maybe it's my cooking. I have a limited repertoire, and nachos every day can make you feel a little weird.) And I find I just can't make myself get back in the car and face the roads. I learned to drive in Alaska, and I usually love to go charging into the snow, hurtling over berms, sliding into my parking spot, but MS has pretty much killed my confidence. It's less fun to get stuck when you have a hell of time walking or digging out. I put off mailing cookies until it's too late. Pathetic, I know.<br />
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And we hesitate to have the kids come up for Christmas, since mastitis can be contagious and both girls are nursing their babies.<br />
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So C. rests and we work on our now post-Christmas-present projects.<br />
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I'm making a rocking dachshund for our little granddaughter. The rocking base is the hard part, and I get it assembled all wonky. I've never made a rocking anything, and we're winging it without a pattern. And it's really cold in the shop area of the unheated gym, so I set up a spot in the living room and proceed to make a huge mess. C. is too ill to protest. I dart in to the gym and sand or cut or drill, them rush back into the warmth.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I disassemble the base, clamp the rockers to a box to keep everything square, and reassemble. It works!</td></tr>
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I feel pretty successful when Bella barks at the partly finished intruder. I still need to cover the screws, and apply the final paint, ears and loooooooong tail.<br />
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When C. feels better she works on her own metal project. Shoot, she's making a bigger mess than I am!<br />
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We plan to get everyone together soon and pass out weird homemade presents. It will be lovely.</div>
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<br />Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-60008090296477989882017-12-16T23:12:00.000-08:002017-12-17T00:58:04.799-08:00Holiday crankinessWell, crap.<br />
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I got all giddy with the season, and decided to make awesome gluten-free cookies for my work friends and my garden friends and my family near and my family far.<br />
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No, I hadn't tested the recipes. Shut up.<br />
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So far, it's gone badly, <i>and I'm surprised.</i><br />
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Now I'm thinking I'll be lucky to get a tiny box of cookies to my folks in Texas, and one to C.'s most excellent brother in Seattle. And lots of ugly bits to foist off on the kids when they come up. Or maybe the dogs.<br />
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The top row is three failed attempts to cook normal (not gluten-free) shortbread cookies. I'm getting really, really pissed. I Googled the problem, and apparently it might be the fat content of the butter (Oh, Mr. Grocer, can I exchange this butter for less-fatty butter?), or the proportions in the recipe (too late to do anything about that), or rolling them out too thin (if they were thicker they could make even bigger puddles!) or the oven firing too hot. I started cooking at 325. I'm down to 200 now. They are a a tiny bit better. Feh. And I forgot they had wheat flour and ate some dough, so now I have a headache and feel like a moron. (I cook, I nibble. It's how I roll.)<br />
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That's the <i>Martha Stewart Cookbook</i> in the back, and the <i>Bonnie Scottish Cookbook</i> to the left. You guys were not helpful.<br />
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I've wasted three pounds of butter, and my kitchen (C.'s kitchen, really) is a greasy, flour-streaked mess.<br />
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Sigh.<br />
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The bottom row is my less-than-brilliant success row. Left, gf lemon shortbread (better for baking, but with a funny gluten-free taste. You know what I mean), the pretty-dang-good gf chocolate crinkle cookie, and two fairly successful gf chocolate-covered peanut-butter cheesecake balls (yes, they are "decorated." It's the holidays. Shut up).<br />
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So, Ma, Pa and Dick, guess what you are getting for Christmas?<br />
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No, not pecan shortbread cookies. Those are for the dogs.Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-91359920773758341342017-12-16T19:01:00.003-08:002017-12-16T19:01:43.928-08:00Snow, again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Kewpie noticed that it snowed.Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-11996182628644740072017-12-03T22:21:00.002-08:002017-12-04T16:43:08.341-08:00Pantry inventoryI went over to the pantry (off the other kitchen) to turn the heater on, since 20 is the expected low tonight. And while I was there, I counted the jars of canned food, which I've been meaning to do.<br />
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Here's the 2017 inventory:<br />
In quarts, from this year:<br />
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40 vegetable soup<br />
93 green beans<br />
6 shelled peas<br />
36 snap peas<br />
32.5 tomatoes<br />
23 tomato sauce with herbs<br />
10 quarts salsa (in pints)<br />
9 spinach<br />
4.5 sauerkraut<br />
20 sweet pickles<br />
5 carrots<br />
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From past years:<br />
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9.5 beet pickles<br />
31 dill pickles<br />
8.5 tomato sauce<br />
13.5 borsht<br />
6 plums<br />
and 27 half-pints of jam<br />
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There are also 6 Jarrahdale squashes, a bag of shallots and a bag of onions.<br />
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This is to feed two people, and five dogs (four small and one medium-sized).Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-23417158531394811632017-12-02T20:46:00.001-08:002017-12-02T20:47:56.436-08:00Rain, mehGrey drizzle outside. The bathroom ceiling drips into its bucket. I'm not feeling motivated to a damn thing. The house is a mess. The rabbit room is a mess. The hallway is getting narrower and narrower. Feh.<br />
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I haven't been idle <i>all</i> week. I'm just about done hanging the pantry door – need to find a couple of trim pieces in the gym, and patch the holes and dings in the cheap, modern, used-and-abused door jamb. It took days of slow-mo carpentry to do – chiseling out the hinge pockets, finding hinges and pins, rummaging out shims and trim.... Richard, bless his heart, hauled the door over from the gym. It's one of the original doors from the school – there are 20 or 30 stored over there. The casing (thats the flat trim part, yes?) is original, too, and warped and fragile. The jamb is a battered newer one, almost tall and wide enough, that I found in two different places. The handles and operational bit (we call them "door guts") are from our stockpile of cool metal parts.<br />
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Of course, since this is an old building, nothing is truly square or plumb. And the old materials are not in the best shape. And the walls are a weird thickness. And I scrounge materials. So it's all a little funky. But since the old door was sheet of plastic stapled over the hole (augmented by a down sleeping bag during the cold spell last year), it is a big improvement. </div>
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It opens and closes beautifully.</div>
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I'll have to get creative on the inside trim.</div>
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C. has been making corn tortillas from masa harina (gluten free!) and we've been making enchiladas from our own black beans, salsa and tomato sauce. Pretty tasty.</div>
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Also, the local roofing guy came by and did some patching up there. He's a nice guy, but very shy. He quietly appears, climbs up there, and clumps around painting roof-goop on bad spots. We're shy, too, so this lack of interaction is fine. He does need to get us an invoice so we can pay him from our special roofing account at the bank. </div>
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Right now, trying to make myself do <i>something</i>. I split a little wood and haul it in in our little red wagon. Feed and water the animals. Read. Wait for some kind of ambition. Or motivation. Or sunshine.</div>
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Meh.</div>
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<br />Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-58806439735299177712017-11-22T16:40:00.001-08:002017-11-22T16:53:50.476-08:00World's best son-in-lawHis name is Richard, and he's awesome. He, Em and little Liam came up Saturday, and he spent the whole day reaming out our four storm drains in an effort to make the roof leak less.<br />
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He is a wonderful guy, and we are lucky to have him. We're lucky to have all three of them, and we know it. But he worked his ass off for us Saturday, and it wasn't the first time, either.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8LBQRv3fkEPRY5Sht4Fa2QGR_XsxZkTVaFy8m6ouxeKo0s7hjhCaAHOW7w21atOxX-lzSRfOLNkfIxEFHQkSQI9O_8AwotOeo4Zfake9fvvzk8B2iWJ94PeANJBfXUW6fANcAsQz1nMK/s1600/rooter2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8LBQRv3fkEPRY5Sht4Fa2QGR_XsxZkTVaFy8m6ouxeKo0s7hjhCaAHOW7w21atOxX-lzSRfOLNkfIxEFHQkSQI9O_8AwotOeo4Zfake9fvvzk8B2iWJ94PeANJBfXUW6fANcAsQz1nMK/s320/rooter2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I called the rental place and reserved the 85-foot "electric snake," and E. and R. picked it up and brought it out. The thing is heavy and awkward, and consists of a frame, a cage for the line and a motor. Basically, you feed the pointy end and heavy line into the pipe, and the motor drives it around and around to ream out the pipes. It doesn't feed the line, just rotates it, so you have to push the line in and pull it out manually. It was a hell of a workout, not including hauling it to and from the basement for the fourth line, which was eight feet off the floor. Em and I took turns assisting, holding the flashlight, bracing the frame, and putting it in reverse when needed.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBSHSbdvPc5wNq0biBSTO7TqB75q0mUmuIxMCUySJhUjrZDyDcQmdc_umFf3rJr_2VxZWBGOP7t1H50FeE0_dasl-sB5FMPc8MWW1CJrz0CHcjd4UIRRTL65-ugVBEJul6g5QWANaN32v/s1600/rooter+snoot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBSHSbdvPc5wNq0biBSTO7TqB75q0mUmuIxMCUySJhUjrZDyDcQmdc_umFf3rJr_2VxZWBGOP7t1H50FeE0_dasl-sB5FMPc8MWW1CJrz0CHcjd4UIRRTL65-ugVBEJul6g5QWANaN32v/s400/rooter+snoot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Em captured the threatening shadow of the machine.</td></tr>
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I rented one and reamed out the septic lines four years ago. I wouldn't be up to it today, especially on a ladder in the basement!<br />
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So thanks, Richard. You rock.<br />
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He hit multiple blockages and worked through them, so we're hopeful that the roof sumps and storm drains will do a better job of getting gallons of rain water off the roof and into the dry well.</div>
Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-14296590480969985282017-11-20T15:41:00.001-08:002017-11-20T15:43:34.606-08:00Midnight in the land of sauerkraut<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
At midnight last night, C. decided to start the sauerkraut.</div>
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No, I don't know why midnight was the magic time, and I personally was ready to go to bed, but I got caught up in it, too.<br />
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She fired up The Robot, and started slicing away.<br />
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The yellow glove is covering the wrist brace she's wearing after hurting her arm splitting wood.<br />
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The hardest part, after cutting the core out of these big cabbages, is deciding the slicing direction of the chunks of kraut. Purists slice by hand. We aren't that pure.<br />
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I removed the outer leaves and cores, and quartered the heads, then helped smash and juice the shredded leaves with a one-handled rolling pin.<br />
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We filled a six-gallon crock with five or six cabbages, covered it with a cloth and a plate, and left it overnight to produce brine.<br />
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I'm glad she decided to tackle the job. We've been kind of low lately, having a hard time getting started doing the many jobs that should be done. And the weather is dreary.<br />
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In other news, we had pie. I love pie.<br />
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It was apple, and C. made her first gluten-free crust. The recipe is <a href="https://comfortablydomestic.com/2014/04/the-best-gluten-free-pie-crust/" target="_blank">here</a>. She said it was a little awkward to work with, but doable, and pretty dang good.Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-22043128543834681332017-11-09T19:01:00.000-08:002017-11-09T19:01:27.886-08:00TownYesterday Earl and I made our monthly trip to The Can (Spokane, the local metropolis of 215,973 souls – and a Costco, and a fine bookstore, Auntie's).<br />
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Our very kind younger daughter Emma took us to Costco for serious cheese shopping. (Young Liam helped by making motor noises from his stroller.) I had a quick lunch with my work buddies. Bought gas. Bought a month's worth of Canadian and Mexican beer. And met with an angelic woman from SNAP, to apply to have our mortgage reconfigured to lower our payment, since we're on disability now. She was great, and we are hopeful.<br />
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Then a quick stop at WinCo to score a month's supply of Guittard milk chocolate. Will it last a whole month? We don't know. We are hopeful. C. has offered to hide it, and allow set amounts each day, but I'm afraid I might turn violent.<br />
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Today C., Earl and I hit Deer Park (pop. 4,000) for Blue Sky cola and some miscellaneous groceries I didn't have time to buy in Spokaloo.<br />
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I think we're set for the month, and we're happy to stay home now.<br />
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The weather has turned wet. I think the usual fall monsoons are here, though late. We need to hit our mushroom spot for fall pickings.<br />
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Today C. went up on the roof and cleaned out the stovepipe topper. She poked around a bit, looking for the causes of our usual leaks.<br />
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We have some money set aside for roof work, and talked to a nice local guy about it. He has no sense of urgency, though, so we may need to call one of the more businesslike places. I do not want to be bailing out the back door this year.<br />
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We've had a couple of deaths in the last month or so. Birdie, our neurologically damaged house chicken, died. And Walter, our granddog the pug, struggled with a horrible autoimmune disease and was finally, mercifully, euthanized. He was only 6.<br />
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I keep busy feeding and watering the animals, hauling firewood, and reading. And thinking about next year's garden.<br />
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And older daughter S. gave us her old Nikon digital camera, so we should have some good shots to post!<br />
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No eggs today. None yesterday.<br />
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<br />Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088780801531579773.post-82107783429773412522017-11-05T19:00:00.001-08:002017-11-05T19:00:30.238-08:00Snow dayThe snow got serious, and we must have five inches out there. It's not a lot, but it's enough to keep me mostly inside, reading and listening to Jango internet radio. Ruthie Foster's "Death Comes a Knocking" is playing. Crank it up! Great song.Old Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06852548486625671272noreply@blogger.com3