trailer home

 It was not without incident… but the trailer is home in it’s winter berth. We picked it up from Kirsten’s on Thursday: Carm wiggled the truck into place and we got hitched; we backed out past the giant red shed and after a quick run for the dogs were on our way…

At the halfway point the truck threw a check engine light. Oh oh. Pull over on a narrow road with a crumbly shoulder as wide as a tootsie roll, bounded by a deep ditch. No weird noises, no smells, oil pressure good, tranny temp fine, so we started down the road. It may have been a miracle but we got home safely with the truck running fine. Carm put a code reader on it and the code suggested that the air filter needed changing… at least we hope that’s what it is!

The final challenge was backing into the laneway - this is fraught with fight at the best of times and yesterday was not the best of times. In the end, Carm did get the trailer into place and we are still married.

new grow lights

Friday was sunny but cold so I bundled up to empty the trailer of freezable goods and of course all the food. Anything that we will need has been brought inside; anything that we might need over the winter (i.e. the next 6 months) is stowed in the trailer in accessible spots.

The house will be a shambles until everything finds a nook or cranny. Ugh.

Carm picked up a 20kg box of chicken wing tips on Thursday, so as soon as we were home with the trailer we got busy with baggies. They will be awesome for bone broth, or at least I hope they will be. My other option was chicken necks, hummm, maybe they would have been better as there’d be no skin to deal with. 

Friday night Trudie & Leo came by for an after dinner drink. As usual we covered every topic for an interesting evening.

Today (Sunday), Jo Ellen and Don came for a mid afternoon lunch - Sunday dinner at my great grandparents was always in the afternoon and I was actually thinking that it might be nice to reinstate that tradition.

So now it’s time to get into winter hibernation mode. This year should be easier than last but I’m still going to have to make a concerted effort to stay out of the doldrums. I worked really hard at it last year and managed to pass the winter without any depression. I’ll take the same tact as last winter: cooking and baking, nice suppers at the table with a bit of dress-up, and lots of music. There should be more friends over this winter. Depending on the covid situation I may even start taking Adia to PetSmart for a bit of training.

I might even get on the treadmill on a regular basis.

Awesome!

“trailer safely backed into its spot at the side of the house”

“a bit of sunshine for our trip”

“Adia did a long sit, stay while Carm unhitched the trailer”

“a bowl of ramen noodles - Costco’s brand is my favorite”

“trying Trudie’s butter”

“making my own butter”

“Sunday dinner”

10 down

 Holy shit… excuse the language… I just got off some random anti-vaxxer/anti-masker’s facebook page and I’m freaked out! Like passing a particularly gruesome car accident I couldn’t take my eyes off the bullshit that she had linked on her page. Disbelief that people could think like that and sadness that our education system is so lacking had me shaking my head until I was dizzy… Perhaps the worst of it was her proclamation that women are too stupid to work!!!! Stay out of facebook Laura! 

We got a new internet yesterday hurrah! Faster downloads and better still faster uploads for improved virtual visits will be welcome this winter.

Yesterday a cold rain fell from the sky, today photons from the sun rain down upon us, blessing us with light and warmth. Carm’s taken advantage of one the few nice days left to have a golf game… perhaps his last for the season although I suspect he’ll be able to squeeze in a few more.

I took advantage of a day to myself to make evil rice krispie squares and listen to wild music. I didn’t get on the treadmill but did get myself out of breath a few times by flailing around in a tempo that may have matched some song in another dimension. Adia even got into the action a few times. I was dancing to ‘Rasputin' when she tried to walk between my legs. Then she threw me an uncontrollable backup as well as some pretty good spins. I grabbed a handful of kibble and we practiced a few things. 

Awesome!

“Adia being polite with the internet guy”

“all my battery candles working for winter night tub soaks”

“Adia getting in on the dancing”

“Grace bobbling her head in time to the music”

“a giant pile of parsley tucked into the freezer - lots more to harvest”

“my honey coming home after a day away”

lingering over the last days of camping

 Summer is quickly coming to an end. I know it ended officially a month ago but for us living in our villetta is a summer pastime. One that we will miss when we put it to bed this week. It feels like a whole lifetime ago that we took the beast to Kirsten’s but in reality it was just 5 months ago. Even through Covid, it was a wonderful summer.

We got to the villetta on a cloudy Friday afternoon, quickly settling into our second home. We had a short visit with Kirsten, Shawn, and Shenna before Shawn headed off to see Olaf. That left Carm surrounded by silly girls - he didn’t seem to mind 🤣. We had a fun evening eating huge sandwiches at Kirsten’s then tea in the villetta. 

Friday night was a horror with Spike… he was disoriented and stressed late into the night. It was after midnight before I was able to get him into bed where Carm pinned him down with his arm until Spike finally relaxed and went to sleep. 

I had a glimpse into our future decisions that night. 

He was better on Saturday, going to bed at the right time and sleeping through the night. Daytimes don’t seem as traumatic for him, perhaps because he sleeps so much. I read a bit about sundowner syndrome for people and it seems that dogs can get it too. We’ve noticed that he becomes more confused after 6:30 so we’ll have to make sure to help him through that time. So far he still has good quality of life for the most part. He’ll have a winter at home with no changes which should help.

Sunday was gorgeous! Cold but the glorious sun blazed in the sky. Carm and Shawn went to the movies - the new movie Dune was playing so they were both keen! Our original plan was to bring the trailer home on Sunday, but the lure of the big screen was too much for Carm.

So now it’s Monday and we are home without our giant home away from home. When we got up this morning the cold rain sent us looking at the long range forecast - later in the week will be perfect for dashing over to Kirsten’s to get it.

Awesome!

“a cold rainy day snuggled with my honey”

“sun shining into the trailer, warming the air”

“little dog coming over to see me”

“Kirsten laughing about something”

“a roaring fire in the fireplace warming the freezing house”

garlic planted

 We laboured at our task with the sun heating our backs. One hundred and fifty huge cloves of garlic are lovingly nestled in a blanket of dirt, all covered by a protecting layer of plastic. A makeshift fence surrounds the bed to keep Adia from zooming right through it. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day!

First we split up about 50 bulbs to pick the biggest cloves for planting. Some bulbs were almost the size of my fist and they’d only have 4 or 5 cloves each. We put aside the smaller ones and gosh! there were lots of huge ones. We’d exclaim to each other ‘look at this one!’ as we peeled the outer layers of paper to expose the individual cloves.

Then we gathered our tools and went outside. Carm raked the bed to get rid of Adia’s foot prints, then we lay down a carpet of plastic. Time to plant. Carm did the lion’s share of the work as the soil was difficult. I used a giant screwdriver to stab holes in a semi organized grid. Well, it started that way but by the end it was more ‘freeform’. Regardless, the cloves all found a spot.

I was thinking about light. Not light bulbs (although they have been at the forefront of my consciousness as we smarten everything up), but light from stars. It is a miracle that the pinpoint of light from a distant star is able to make it all the way to Earth. Think about it. Tiny photons travel light years in an organized fashion to delight us with the milky way. The Big Dipper is a wonder in the sky.

I was telling Carm about my thoughts and of course he immediately segued into scientific explanations… I think he missed the point!

Some sentences are harder to start than others… tonight we were talking about Carm’s old best friend that we parted ways with over 25 years ago, hoping that he was in a happy place and that his life had worked out for him... so I went to look him up on Facebook while Carm hit Google. His first hit was an obituary from 2 years ago. The shock felt like I’d taken a knee to the stomach and looking over at Carm it seemed that he’d felt the same punch. I hope our friend had been happy and had found a life that suited him. R.I.P. Brian.

Awesome!

“150 cloves of garlic lovingly put in the earth. We await next summers pungent bounty”

“bright blue sky”

“Adia zooming around while we went about our labours”

“delishous soup from the freezer for supper”

“huge cloves of garlic”

friends together

 We ran into a friend from the past at the grocery store yesterday. It would have normally been great to see her and conversation would have flowed easily, but I couldn’t get my mind unstuck from behind my mask. I’m a big advocate of masks and would go nowhere without one, but gosh, it still surprises me, no shocks me, that we are in a pandemic. I don’t go out to the shops much so I am able to more easily live in la la land where life is normal and no one is afraid to die alone in a hospital with a tube down their throat.

The last two days have been on again, off again, with the clouds racing across the sky obliterating the sun. The odd patch of blue where the sun can shine is a special treat. Temperatures are more seasonable, in other words: brrrrr, so we are making plans to bring the trailer home this weekend. I’ll make sure we have a bottle of bubbly to celebrate our wonderful summer. (and a bit of commiseration)...

Tonight I fed Pat a supper made from a kludge of recipes which ended up being a one dish mess of potatoes, red peppers, and onions with some roasted mushrooms thrown in. A couple of sausage chunks and some Greek seasonings topped it off. The sounds of people enjoying their meal drowned out any conversation there might have been. Sometimes I think I should stay out of the web repository of recipes. Or pick one and go with that instead of the wild flights of fancy that I’ve been prone to but today it worked out well!

After supper Trudie & Leo came over to join us. Tonight was the first time since February of 2020 that we’d all been together inside. Things are looking up!

Awesome!

“Remembering that day in Rome when we walked into our hotel room, threw open the shutters and there, right in front of us, was the Pantheon. That moment is near the top of the awesome list.”

“the aroma of freshly cut parsley”

“the ring of messenger video with an incoming call”

“saying ‘turn lights on’ and lights go on!”

“the late afternoon sun shining low across the fields lighting the treetops”

“my new bath pillow”

sunday supper

 It’s been 581 days since the pandemic started… yes, 83 weeks have gone by and still life is not back to the way it was - I’ll not say ‘normal’ as that is shifting week by week. We still weigh the risks and exposures when gathering with people and still avoid crowded spaces. Perhaps that will be ‘normal’ going forward.

I’m afraid that this year and a half of restriction has gotten us out of the habit of gathering with friends on a regular basis. The weeks and months of practice have made us self sufficient.

It’s a dreary day, clouds heavy with the threat of rain, but I’m bright and reasonably cheerful. I started off my lazy day reading an excerpt of Stanley Tucci’s new book. It inspired me to get out the stand mixer to make a few loaves of our favorite bread. Kneading a ball of elastic dough evokes a feeling of hippie warmth. Bread fresh from the oven is the taste of home.

He talked about his mother’s ‘Sunday Supper ragu’ which must have been every Italian’s Sunday table. When he was young Carm’s family gathered for this traditional meal.  Coincidentally a ragu is on our menu for tonight. The sauce is already made but I’ll brown some little riblets and simmer them in the sauce for a while before adding the already made meatballs and finally the pasta (spaghetti tonight I think). (the instant pot will make it a one pot meal! The pasta soaks up flavour from the sauce, oh yeah baby!)

The excerpt ended… I’ll see if the book goes on sale before buying it. In google books I searched for other writings about food and stumbled across Julia Child’s ‘My Life in France’. The excerpt inspired more time in the kitchen. And it’s been added to my wish list.

Julia’s book mentioned blue airmail letter paper which drove me to the basement to unearth the box labeled ‘Old Letters’. I haven’t delved into that treasure trove for years and was delighted to find the script from my first and only acting role. In grade 6 while we were living in England the class put on ‘Animal Farm’ which was a reasonably dark book for 11 year olds! My role of Clover the horse highlighted that I was a lousy actor and in retrospect the only reason I was chosen was my exotic accent!

Other letters reminded me of friends long lost and times forever gone. The immature writing travelled me to the mid 70s, luckily I was able to return to the here and now.

A few old aptitude tests and IQ tests were shuffled among the stamps and envelopes. I had to laugh that my worst score was spelling!

I did an experiment with the bread, inspired by photos of focaccia.

I think I’ll make Sunday supper a thing this winter.

Awesome!

“grey drizzly day which is awesome in it’s own way”

“Adia running circles around us - pure joy on 4 legs”

“realizing that I’ve mastered the proper quote key on my dastardly keyboard”

“picking a few cherry tomatoes - yes! Still!”

“reading books about food and cooking”

“laughing at the immature prose of a 12 year old”

“reminiscing over supper”

smarty pants light the way

 We ventured into the wild west yesterday… Liquidation was busy and my first inclination was to turn around and drive back home. Instead I reminded myself that we’re vaccinated and that likely most people in the store would be too. Plus there’d be masks; like upside down lone rangers wandering the badlands we’d find the lost cattle, errr treasures. So, in a frenzy of shopping withdrawal I piled the cart full of stuff while deeking around people who seemed to plant themselves in the middle of the aisle. We made it out of there hopefully covid free and with lighter wallets.

One of our finds was a giant baking sheet which we thought would cover a whole shelf… if only we had a commercial sized oven! I don’t know what we’ll use it for - perhaps as a serving tray for canapes for 70 or more people! Or maybe for making huge spruce bough table arrangements. Which makes me wonder if I’ll do the same tableful of greenery at Christmas as last year when I cut down a whole forest of trees!

Our Amazon delivery yesterday was two smart light bulbs. We can control the colour and brightness of the lights which will be a fun diversion in the depths of our long, dark winter. It’s a dark dreary day today with lots of rain so we’ve got them shining their brightest in a warm white.

Speaking of light bulbs… of 3 dictionaries consulted two had it as 2 words, one for 1 word.

Awesome!

“glitter of raindrops on green leaves”

a straight face

 I’ve been watching ‘Schitt’s Creek’ while I’ve been pounding away the miles on the treadmill. I’m on the 9th episode and it is quickly growing on me. The characters are all pretty funny while being slightly unlikeable although as time is going by in this fictional town they are growing on me. Especially Dan Levy… he rarely keeps a totally straight face - I can’t tell if it’s his character or if his face is moulded from a lifetime of laughing. Regardless, he makes me laugh and laughter is always a good thing.

I said yesterday that temperatures had turned more seasonal but I was wrong, at 22C it’s actually pretty warm for mid October. 

The warm temps don’t hide the fact that winter is looming over the horizon. It’s time to adjust my thinking that hibernation is a good thing. It seems that we might be clear enough of Covid to avoid a long winter's lockdown and have some friends in the house.

We spent a bit of time outside this afternoon… picking mushrooms which may or may not have been poisonous. We weren’t taking any chances with gobbleguts Adia!

Awesome!

“gorgeous orange tree at the end of the laneway!”

“outside without a sweater mid October”

“caramelized onions and apples”

“laughing at someone’s inability to keep a straight face - remember Carol Burnett and Tim Conway?”

where no man has gone before

 James T. Kirk the original travelled to the edge of space today, not quite ‘where no man has gone before’ but a frontier all the same. The trip lasted a few minutes but it must have blown his mind - he babbled on for ages after disembarking from his amazing trip. I think I’d go on about it for a bit too!

After days of outstanding weather (yesterday we were 0.1 degrees C from breaking a record) we’ve turned the page to fall like temps with a bit of rain tossed in.

I’m not a high-fiver and have most likely never initiated one until Sunday after a long day in the kitchen (how did my Mom ever do it on her own? A lifetime of high 5s for her!). I turned to Kirsten as empty plates were removed from the long table and raised my hand. It’s hard to believe that a meal with just a few components could take so bloody long to make! Mom brought the turnip already cooked and we kept the sides to a minimum (stuffing, brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy), but still it was a marathon. This week I’ll be sticking to one pot meals!!! 

A thick soup filled our tummies tonight. It was a good hour of prep for 6 large servings - 2 for the freezer, 2 for tonight, and 2 for later in the week. Well worth the effort. As an experiment I tossed in one diced lemon. The peel was soft at the end of the cooking time but I think it added too much acidity to the bowl.

Awesome!

“bright grow lights over the plants in the basement”

“clipping one of Spike’s feet as he reclined on the futon”

“Grace digging into wholesome food on her plate”

“gathering around the Thanksgiving table”

“high fiving with Kirsten for a job well done”

“beautiful turkey”

“walking into the villetta after a long day away”

“a whole weekend without a Spike accident!”

ruddy complexion

 I’m waffling on my purchase… sure, my tummy is satisfyingly full of warm, slightly crispy indented goodness, but do I really need a trip down maple syrup lane? I’d gotten the waffle inserts for our handy Griddler with the intention of making two particular recipes - healthy recipes. Alas, the one for tofu didn’t work out. I haven’t tried the potato one yet.

I made the second batch of waffles this morning using a different recipe. It was touted as being the crispest in a long post about the ins and outs of making the best ever waffles. It’s a yeast batter so I made it yesterday and let it rest in the fridge overnight. Unfortunately I think I put double the salt… so! I’ll have to try again ;-)

The weather has run the gamut during the last week. Grey days of rain with the odd bit of sun thrown in to keep me out of my bed with covers over my head. Today it’s sunny and with favorite music blasting I’m happy (or at least have moved on from doom and gloom).

So that was Wednesday… it’s now Friday and the weather is still SPECTACULAR! So lovely that I’m going to forgo my time on the treadmill and spend a bit of time outside. I’m a bit pressed for time today anyway since I helped Carm put in a timer for some lights yesterday… it took way way more time than I anticipated and since I had a lot of tasks planned for the day I got behind.

We did have a lovely supper last night with Pat. It almost felt like the olden days when we weren’t so scared about everything, although I did try to keep some distance which can be impossible. Adia was thrilled to have company… we’ll have to work on some manners. Of course when the company pets and pets… ;-)

The plants are settling into their new winter digs… meanwhile, our house is overrun with boxelder beetles. Some may have come in with the plants but I think millions are coming in through the downstairs patio door. Our house is not as airtight as we thought!

The landscape is painted with reds, oranges, and yellows - Nature’s ruddy complexion before a season devoid of colour.

We were going to spend the late afternoon sitting outside in the sun with a little bit of island music playing, but alas, the nasty Asian beetles with their giant biting jaws drove us inside.

Awesome!

“fluffy waffle batter”

“hot waffle with maple syrup”

“getting another section of Spike’s face clipped”

“the sun on my face”

“a cloudless fall sky”

“orange leafed trees against a brilliant blue sky”

“Adia didn’t chase the chippy when we walked down the laneway!”

“the villetta”