All is Well

52°f/11°C, clear and sunny. Another gorgeous fall day on tap!

Well, the well is fixed. Thank goodness. Mr. Kay, the well man, came as promised. At first it sounded dire---he was afraid our pump had burned up. Pulling out a pump that is 730 feet down a narrow hole is a huge job. We had to do it once before, and it took days and many, many dollars to replace that pump. I cringe to think what it would cost today.

The problem was a water leak. We knew we had a small leak. Larry tried several times to fix it, and we contacted several plumbers, but none would come out to fix it. I guess that leak suddenly got much worse, splitting the pipe underground.  But we are all good now, and I was happy to have to pay only $325 for the repair. Whew. 

Barb, we did have water on hand. We keep about 10 gallons in the cellar, plus the Berkey water filter holds a gallon or more, and we had a couple buckets of rain water on the deck, so we managed to get through the day pretty well. But my shower this morning sure felt good!

Other good news is that Sarah is doing well, just very tired ftom physical therapy and of course healing. Her Mom messaged me this morning with an update, and thinks Sarah may go home today to continue her recovery.

Poor Larry had to miss the open mic to help the well guy, and wouldn't you know it was one of the best yet! Such a range of talent, and several newcomers, like a guy who played ragtime guitar, a young man who sang a few songs, and the most amazing jug band guy who showed up with a wild contraption and brought down the house. I have a video of him, but before I can pist it i need to figure out how to blur faces, because I caught a couple children in the video and don't want to pist their faces.

It was an absolute blast, and I was exhausted when I got home, but exhilarated too. I told the story of Wicked Jack, one of my favorites and perfect for this time of year. Here is a link to a version of the same tale.  I have never recorded it myself, but i wish I had thought to have someone do so last night. Oh well.

Where Has All the Water Gone?

41°f this morning, or 5°C. Brrr! But it's already up to 67°, clear and sunny. 

I guess I was kind of expecting it. Seems like every 4 or 5 years, we turn on a faucet, and there's no water.  Yesterday I was doing all my usual stuff--laundry, scrubbing down my kitchen stove, cleaning the bathroom-- and the water was running just fine. But just after I made supper (roasted chicken wraps, with green beans and potatoes), the water stopped. Nada. Not one drop.

Larry tried the reset button on the pump box but still nothing. Next step, unfortunately,  was call the well guy. Who thankfully answered the phone this morning and should be here this afternoon.  

So I am trying hard not to get into anything dirty. I already have paint on my arm which will be interesting to scrub off without water. 

I have plants that need to be planted, but I can never do that without getting my nails filthy, even with gloves on. I don't know how I do it, must be a genius or something, but there it is. 

I have apples that I was going to make into pie filling today. That won't happen because it takes water.

The floors need to be mopped. Not happening either.

But I can do ebay listings, and I can price things for the booths. I can straighten up the back room so we can move in a dresser we picked up Sunday. We needed another piece to work on like a hole in the head, but a good 100-year-old oak dresser with mirror for $20? Yes ma'am. It will have to wait its turn though, as I have a console table and an end table to do first. At least I finished up a kitchen table yesterday (the cause of the paint on my arm). One thing at a time.

Tonight is open mic, which is why I need to avoid getting dirty! I doubt the well will be fixed in time for a shower. I see a sponge bath in my future, but right now I might as well get busy doing the things that can be done, right? 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

September in My Kitchen

48°f this morning. 9°C,  warming to upper 60's, clear.

Time to look back and see what was going in my kitchen last month for Sherry's Pickings.

First, basil vinegar, made by putting basil blooms in a jar of apple cider vinegar and letting the basil infused the vinegar for a few days, then straining it off and bottling it up. It smells heavenly.

This is actually from October 1, but oh well! Homemade black walnut waffles with strawberry-cranberry syrup, also homemade,  and fresh butter from our milk girl. She provides us with fresh milk and butter every week. 

Also October 1, making applesauce which we will turn into apple butter next month. For now it's in the freezer.

Beet salad, which was my lunch one day while on vacation in Colorado. So good.

Another meal in Colorado. We ate well!

A Colorado breakfast, delicious French pastries. 

The Silver Dollar Saloon in Leadville, CO, where I had beignets! Very surprising thing to find in an old West Town.

Canning and preserving wound down this month, but I did make pickled pepper rings, and canned some peaches and fruit cocktail, chili and pinto beans. 

A neighbor brought us a nice Chicken of the Woods mushroom. I sautéed half and froze it, and dried the other half.

It dried beautifully. 

I made quiche twice this month. This one was mushroom, onion, peppers, and cheese. I also made some raspberry tarts.

My flowers are still blooming, so I have been picking a few small bouquets for the house. I found this sweet pottery vase for $1.99 at a thrift.

Our last cherry tomatoes. So sad to see them go!

I picked and dried herbs and peppers on my antique drying rack, found in 1975 at the site of an old house being torn down. It was on the trash pile!

Tea at the amazing teahouse in Boulder, Colorado.

The inside of the teahouse. You can see more photos here.

We got a little over a half bushel of apples from our young apple tree, which i made into apllesauce. All our other fruit trees frosted this year so had no fruit.

 

We harvested our Rainbow corn and the only 2 pumpkins from our garden, and also put away 2 bushels of butternut squash. We bought a bushel of nice potatoes at the farmer's market too, and these are also stored away for winter.

We spent many evenings out here by the firepit, sometimes having wine, and sometimes, on chillier evenings, hot chocolate or hot spiced cider.

Other things I made last month, but no photos:

• chocolate zucchini bread
• banana bread
• peanut butter cookies
• chili
• cornbread
• zucchini pasta casserole
• crockpot chicken and apples 

We also sliced three pork loins, bought on sale, into pork chops, and cut up ten pounds of chicken leg quarters and put all of this meat into the freezer.

I feel ready for the coming cold weather!