Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Black clouds are rolling across, overhead and in the distance, torn here and there with streaks of blue, as heaven tries to get in.
It is chilly now, autumn weather has arrived. Most of our leaves have fallen from the trees, but not all. The garden is taking its last gasp, almost everything with any chance of ripening has been harvested. The temperature is predicted to all to -4C overnight, and although the garden will be covered, it is up in the air as to whether that will keep it from being damaged.
Tank is supposed to be back in service Friday afternoon, it will be wonderful to have the feeling that I COULD get out and about if I wanted to. That feeling is very important to me. In reality, I only venture out a few times a week, and not very far, so not being able to do it isn’t all that intrusive, in the short-term. But I notice the difference in how it feels, the way the world seems.
The dehumidifier has quit for good. The small dehumidifier is doing a decent job of keeping the basement from becoming musty, but it is small and very energy inefficient. Last night I ordered a new one from Costco, a first time order from them, so we shall see how that goes. They say 7-10 business days for delivery, I hope it is 7! They are delivering by UPS, so the possibility of being hit by rotating postal strikes is small.
All in all, the cost of repairs for Tank, and the new dehumidifier, far exceed the cost of the new roof for the garage. Sort of knocks the wind out of any budget we had planned, but life is like that. We will manage to get sorted out financially by the time spring rolls around. Tighten down the hatches!
Attila has been able to get back to puttering in the garage, which he is very happy about. Last night he installed peg board on the high wall, a beginning step for organizing tools. Yay!
The freezer reorganization is on hold until the new dehumidifier arrives, as the increased humidity in the basement would result in additional ice build up from opening the doors frequently. It would probably be wise to use the time to plan the layout for storage inside the new freezer, think it through.
Harvest season continues to keep me busy. Almost daily tomatoes are ripening. A very full 1 litre jar of stewed tomatoes is sitting in the refrigerator, asking me “what’s the plan”. I might just steam can that jar of tomatoes, so easy to do now.
During my middle years, 20 to 40, I did a lot of wild fruit foraging. Jams, jellies, and baking with fresh wild fruit was fun and delicious. The recipe used for just about any kind of fruit gathered was Fresh Fruit Cake Pudding. This past week the craving to revisit that time of my life, a time when hope outweighed troubles, and to enjoy that pudding, was very strong. The Northern Spy apples provided the needed nudge to bake the pudding. I was shocked, after rummaging through my files to find the recipe, at how much sugar the recipe called for, and more shocked that I had, in my youth, considered that acceptable, even desirable. Once baked, after reducing the sugar by half, the pudding seemed very, very sweet. My, how my taste buds have changed!
The problem with this nostalgia pudding, is that it is irresistable. It was baked on Monday night. I had a little piece before going to bed. Yum! Tuesday morning, it caught my eye, sitting innocently on the counter, calling my name, whispering “breakfast”. Yes, it was breakfast. Same thing happened at lunch time. Same thing happened at snack time. I think you know where this is going. Breakfast this morning was a repeat performance, and lunch time will be too. By this afternoon that pudding will be gone!
At least last night’s dinner consisted of baked fish, a wee bit of rice, and few cups of vegetables!
99% of the time I eat a very healthy diet… but every once in a while the tires get blown off that vehicle.
Worldly
Weather
7°C
Date: 8:00 AM EDT Wednesday 17 October 2018
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.0 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 7.4°C
Dew point: 2.7°C
Humidity: 72%
Wind: WNW 20 gust 32 km/h
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.”
Washington Irving
1783 – 1859
“…a time when hope outweighed troubles.” Ahhh, I remember it well! I can see that you are ready for winter!
Diane, those days weren’t exactly the good old days, but there seemed so many days yet to come, possibilities were different then. Sometimes the past nibbles at my toes.
I am actually enjoying getting ready for the winter this year, the canning is so satisfying, and it feels really good to get a handle on just what is in the freezer, and where it can be found!
We actually had short bouts of sleet and snow pellets, yesterday. DH said he actually had to scrape his windshield this morning, as there was an accumulation of heavy frost plus snow pellets. It’s our official October warning of what’s to come.
Teri, wow, that missed us! It is cold here, but no snow or ice coming out of the sky yet. The garden is done though, nothing made it through the night, but since it is October 18th, well, we had a good run with the garden, so all is as it should be.