Bath time

I know that it looks like Auggie is somehow being punished, but he sits in the kitchen sink of his own accord.

This is while I’m making coffee. I think the sink is warm from me running hot water to warm up my Chemex pot as well as my carafe. But ??? – the mind of the cat ???

At any rate, he gets in the sink, moves the stopper and proceeds with his morning ablutions.

Better the kitchen sink than my pillow!

Also this morning…

Yep, we woke to a dusting of snow and temperature of 31F: harbinger of what is to come!

We will likely have some balmy, sunny days before real Winter, but today was a reminder that it is on its way.

Time to cozy up

Those would be snowflakes on Bear’s back.

A very balmy (55F) Sunday made it a bit hard to believe today’s Winter Storm Warning, but NOAA nailed the forecast

At my house, just light flurries, but other spots in the valley had 2-4-6-8 inches of heavy, wet snow that brought down trees and power.

The fuschia shrugged off snow and cold and persist in blooming madly!

Auggie chooses to ignore the weather outside…

The slash pile.

Thanks to logger Ben Thompson (Badger Cutting), working across the road from me, my slash pile is a bit better organized and just waiting for a good burn day!

After yesterday’s warmish temperatures, today went to cold. I had my first woodstove fire.

Time to cozy up.

Again with the drains!

Less than a year ago … 10.5 months ago: the drain issue.

And starting this last Thursday … again with the drains!

But the work deadline (Thursday!) and Bear and Auggie and me … it was Friday before I gave in and called Roto-Rooter (U.S. franchise of drain clearing)

The local Roto-Rooter is run by brothers and in recent years they have been very responsive and professional as well as knowledgeable.

Friday was booked so Saturday it was.

Jason, who was here in November 2015, showed at the time scheduled. We talked about the symptoms – not polite conversation for internet consumption! Bottomline: Jason told me that when he came last November he didn’t have his high pressure machine and normally he clears with the snake and then further with the high pressure water. So… this round we did a swish back and forth twice: high pressure water in, multiple flushing out as well as a full washer out, high pressure in and another round of out. AND, Jason went up on the roof and checked the air vent as the “out” was going on.

So: we both feel that the outbound plumbing is clear and also the vent and we will see how things go. If there are issues in the nearish future, the next step is a “camera-scope” which Roto-Rooter has/does. I hope things go well … for my budget, but my technical heart would love to see the scope!

At any rate, early Saturday afternoon, the house Summers was operating normally – plumbing-wise.

“…but… ‘something is rotten in the state of Denmark'”

SRSLY !! … Auggie knows Shakespeare ???

Well, the chairs!

Jason wanted to back the Roto-Rooter truck near the clean out access so I had moved the chairs to a safe location.

Still, the chairs obviously felt their position was UNDIGNIFIED!

All has been restored.

What a day(s)!!

Sunday in the kitchen

Actually, Saturday afternoon as well … all those fresh vegetables from the market!

This is the first weekend in a month that I haven’t worked, studied work issues or watched videos related to learning about the new tools for work. I happen to enjoy my work very much, but I also enjoy some time away from it to refresh and regroup.

This weekend mostly happened in the kitchen.

Pickled Peppers! … pickled jalapeno peppers. I enjoy them as a garnish on many things. The vinegar-sugar brine brings out their sweet-hot flavor.

A new venture: sauerkraut. I made it once before in just a water and salt solution but was not enamored of the flavor. I always have a jar of sauerkraut in the refrigerator and like the jalapenos, add a little of it to many things.

This new homemade batch is a recipe from Donna Schwenk’s Cultured Food Life . The recipe calls for some apple and jicama and also the addition of a culture starter to add to the good bacteria during the fermenting process.

Bread of course! And I processed a very small batch (13 ounces) of plums into a tiny jar of plum jam. I have become a huge fan of small batch preserves. I know that many people do large batches because they have a lot of fresh fruit that must be preserved, but I like making a jar or two as needed with whatever is in season.

And speaking of a lot to be preserved – I have all of those vegetables from the market! So another bit of the weekend was spent doing a bit of planning – what needed to be used first and what to do about any extra.

I typically plan meals very loosely around what I have and the freezer is my friend!

A recent acquisition to help with the freezing kind of preserving is a vacuum sealer. I had been dithering about which one and which features when Mel, of Mel’s Kitchen Cafe featured this one which is a very basic model. Since it works for her and her family of 7, I decided it would no doubt work for just me. It is very easy to use – it seals as well as vacuum-seals. Any of the vegetables that look like they MUST be used that I am unable to use will get pureed, vacuum-sealed and frozen for later use.

Two varieties of beans, two whole chickens … neither very photogenic – were cooked and divided up for meals and the freezer. A pumpkin and a batch of rice are also ready for this week’s eating.

It is to be a cool and rainy week and there is plenty on hand for a variety of soups and stews.

And I am ending the weekend as relaxed as Bear and Auggie look.

More Fall

There is a bit of gold in the woods…

… the few aspen have turned and a lot of leaves are down. The larch are just starting to lighten on their own way to gold.

Weather has been beautiful: pleasant temperatures, soft breezes, mostly sunny days with that magic light of the Fall sun angle.

I missed most of the Farmer’s Market season this year, but this morning Bear and I headed to town and brought back an abundance of Fall produce:

Onions, a garlic bulb nearly as large as the onion, flowers, tomatoes, carrots, leeks, beets, greens, apples and a beautiful bunch of a variety of sunflowers.

Good stuff!

Later … the road home.

And from the same spot but looking a little more to the north.

More Fall.