Cold Time / Renewal Time 2021

Our Creek on January 24th

Before I begin, I'd like to thank everyone that took the time to reach out to us regarding Lunette's passing. It was much appreciated.

August 1, 2019

If you commented on the bottom of the Blog page, we responded there. You can view our response by visiting that entry again.

Another month passes with tonight's full moon. Even though we're just ending the month of Cold Time, the thermometer claims otherwise. Actually, this weekend is predicted to be the coldest weather of the season. We've been in a snow drought this season, but there is some snow on the ground right now. I want snow in January and February, a little in March. By April, I don't welcome it so much.

Well, this month could have been called "Finish It Up" month.

An assortment of the beans we grow

I finished threshing out the beans; 11 gallons altogether.

Bob's sweater done

I finished Bob's sweater. That's not a "muffin top" he's sporting. He simply has on the requisite four winter layers underneath. We call it his artificial fat. Easier on the heart than the real thing!

Mini rug in the doll house dining room

My mini rug is done. I started it in March

And last, but certainly not least, the pantry is done! Here are some before and after pictures.

North wall before

The north wall before...

North corner after

...And here's that corner redone.

South west corner before

 

The south west corner before...

South west corner now

... And here's that corner now with the new closet. The retractable clothesline and folding drying racks are neatly concealed in the closet.

The new south wall with windows

South east corner before

 Remember that lovely carpet?

South east corner now

This is how that corner looks now.

North east corner. Look at that sunshine!

So the entire project is done! Everything is set back up and in use. We're pleased with the results and are glad that job's done!

Now we'll take a little "breather" before beginning the next project. We still have the laundry room, upstairs bathroom and the east wall spanning the dining room and kitchen. We're still trying to decide which one to tackle next.

In the meantime, we'll rest a bit, do some thinking and planning and keep the woodstove and the cooking stove busy.

Hunker down, do some reading and thinking, and restore yourselves. We'll check in with you at the next full moon.

Kathleen and Bob 

Darkest Depths/Long Nights Time 2020

 

Some Holiday Color

The moon is full. The days are lengthening. And we bid farewell to Darkest Depths for another cycle.

We've spent much of this month busy in the pantry. 

Painting the ceiling trim

I got the ceiling and walls painted, as well as the ceiling trim and as much of the trim work as Bob has ready yet.

Bob has the ceiling trim all installed. Tomorrow I'll begin painting the wood for the rest of the trim work.

Bob installing window trim

Today we finished laying the new flooring. It's bamboo. The color is "Spice". We are very pleased with the results.

Bob just getting started with the flooring

My job was to place the planks

Bob's off work this week, so we hope to get a lot accomplished in this room.

When I'm not working in the pantry, I'm busy threshing out our beans. I have only about three more bushels to do before I'm done.

A nice snowfall

On the 17th, we got a lovely 8" of snow.

Pre solstice walk in our woods

We took advantage of the snow and went snow shoeing in our woods and meadow on the 20th. It was a part of our solstice celebration, because Bob had to work on the solstice.

Creek rushing with snow melt

On the 24th we had very heavy rain. It melted all of our Christmas snow. We were sad to see it go, but glad we got out to enjoy it earlier.

Our Christmas was quiet, as usual. We played a couple of games and watched an old holiday movie on DVD. I made apple walnut rolls for Christmas breakfast. I only make these for Yule, so that makes them extra special. We had a nice lunch, also.

Apple Walnut Breakfast Rolls

Lunette 10/8/07 - 12/1/20

And now it is my sad task to inform you that our friend, Lunette completed her sojourn here and crossed the Rainbow Bridge on the first of December. She was with us just two months shy of eight years.

The first half of her life was hard. We were her third, and possibly last chance. She came with many problems, some of which were never overcome. But we tried to do our best for her.

"Gottcha Day" Feb 2, 2013

She had attention, care, and about two acres of fenced yard to play in, in addition to another 36 acres of woods and meadow to explore with her best "huntin' buddy".

Now she rests outside of the fence at the edge of the woods that she loved. She can hunt forever where the eyes never dim, nor the legs collapse and her heart can beat strong again. Never more will she be frightened by people who shoot off fireworks or guns, or shout and scream. 

Rest well, our Lunette.

A chapter in our lives has ended. And now, Bob and I go on together; alone.

Till the next time, we hope that 2021 is a better year for us all,

Kathleen and Bob

Sept 2013 Straw piles were great fun!

Oct 2013 Glory Days

Frost Time 2020

 

Hearty Fall fare from our garden

Hello again all,

Frost Time has now come to an end. It's the time of year when we might get all sorts of weather.  And, we did. There's been cold rain and snow that stuck to the ground. We also enjoyed about a week of "second summer" in the midst of that. The days were sunny and balmy - nearly 70 degrees.

The beautiful stretch of weather allowed us to finish our outside chores. The leaves are all picked up and piled for use in next year's garden.

Bob at the splitter

  

We finished splitting and stacking firewood the day after Thanksgiving. Now we have enough to see us through this winter and into next.

The garden at rest

The garden is emptied and ready to rest. The only remaining task is to put mulch on the garlic and strawberries after the ground freezes.

Bob digging horseradish

On the 28th we processed our year's supply of horseradish: 6 quarts...

Horseradish nearly done!

Bob and Lunette dig the sunchokes

... and on the 29th, we packed our 15 liter fermenting crock with Sunchokes (aka Jerusalem Artichokes).

Spices used for Sunchokes

Because of the fair weather, we spent our efforts on outside work instead of the pantry. Now we have to return our attention to that project.

Bob touches up his mudding job

Bob has finished the drywall work...

Walls all primed and ready

... and I primed the walls today. I'll be painting all of this week. Walls and ceiling should all be done by the weekend.

Bob will be making all of the new trim work while I'm doing the painting.

Lunette with her new aide

Lunette is aging quickly now. Her hips no longer function dependably and stairs have become an impossibility. Since I'm not keen on carrying a 63# dog up and down stairs, Bob has made her a ramp to get in and out of the house. She doesn't like to go up it, so we have to grab her collar and lead her up. She gets a treat for that. Now that (the treat), she likes. And don't you dare to forget about that treat! She lets you know in no uncertain terms!

As you may remember, we see winter as a valuable time to rest, relax, rebuild and reconsider. Rather than dread the season, we look forward to it eagerly.

Some of the activities ahead

Here are some of the things we'll be doing: reading, playing games, and observing nature. I'll also be working with my harp and doing needlework.

Work to be finished

There are also a few things I need to finish off: Bob's annual sweater and a mini rug for my large doll house.

And there will still be some chores to do: finish off the pantry and I need to thresh out this year's bean harvest.

We're never bored! Or if we are, it's our own fault, for there's plenty to be doing.

That's about all of the news for now. Be safe, smart and considerate of others: stranger, friend or foe. Learn to savor solitude. It's very good for the soul.

Till next time,

Kathleen, Bob and Lunette

Fallen tree blocks her path. Bad hips impede jumping.

Seed Fall 2020

 

After the Harvest soup

The moon is nearly full, and Seed Fall is once again nearly in the past.

Grey, wet and cold. I think those are the words that most accurately describe this passing month. The weather has impeded the progress on our usual autumn chores, but we're doing our best.

All of the produce is finally out of the garden.

Carrots have been pulled and stowed in the root cellar...

Harvesting carrots

....as have potatoes.

French Fingerling Potatoes

These jobs have gotten done, despite extensive help from Lunette!

Such a helper!

When we got to the beets, we found that some critter (my guess is a raccoon or opossum) had been dining freely on them. As last month, I had to deal with a lot of damaged produce.. After storing away the intact roots, I set out to salvage the damaged ones.

Once again, my dehydrator came to the rescue. I shredded the roots...

Shredded beets

... and dried the shreds.

These can either be thrown into soup as they are, or I can pulverize them in the blender to make beet powder. That is useful in soups, casseroles or beverages.

The early cold (and late warmth) kept my Dester tomatoes from ripening outside. So, I picked 56 mature green fruits and brought them inside to ripen.

Tomatoes ripening in the cellar

We use them as they ripen. (We've eaten a lot of soup and spaghetti lately.) 

I was fortunate to get almost all of the dry beans harvested in between rains and before the freezing temperatures came. 

Sauerkraut time again

Today I put 4 Kg of red cabbage into the smaller (7.5 l) fermentation crock. We'll be preparing horseradish and sunchokes in the month ahead.

We've been trying to clean out the garden, but the rain has been problematic. We hope to get more done this weekend.

Twelve bean trellises need to be cleaned off

Preparing firewood has also been a little difficult. Bob felled three dying trees. Two have been split and stacked. The third still waits for it's turn.

Bob's a lumberjack (and he's ok?)

Inside to the pantry. The taping and mudding continues.

Taping and mudding nearly done

 Flooring, paint and trim materials have all been purchased. 

These supplies mean we're getting closer

We hope to really get this done quickly now.

On October 5th, we drove to the county seat and handed in our absentee ballots to the election official in person.

Bob makes it official!

No mail delays and very limited COVID exposure.

On the 31st is our Festival of Remembrance. We'll remember those who've gone beyond, and their impact on our lives. It's also a good time to consider the impact we're having. Someday we'll be the ones being remembered. That's something to think about.

Now we actively head into the season of rest and reflection. We hope you will join us, especially in this overwhelming time. It's time to shed our leaves and pull our strength back into our roots for rebuilding.

Till next time, be at peace,

Kathleen, Bob and Lunette

Our example for restfulness