Waiting for Spring

More and more dirt is visible between the shrinking patches of snow - but for how long I don't know. I'm sure winter isn't done with us yet, and I'm glad, too. The last two winters were extremely dry, so it's nice to see these series of storms come through regularly. My fall-seeded arugula has sprouted under the snow, and with a bit of sun the tiny plants are starting to turn green. I've got wire over it, hoping the quail won't find it for a while yet. Last year's leeks are still in fine shape, except that some of the chickens have found them, and have been munching on the tops a bit (more wire keeps them from digging them up completely). The walking onions are starting to send up some green sprouts too, but no garlic, shallots, or spinach visible yet.

I'm sure the stresses of the dry past two winters contributed to my losing a nectarine tree to borers last year. I'm still waiting to see if my pie cherry tree can recover, but haven't had to worry about trying to get water to my trees this winter. Now, if only the cold weather will stay until real spring comes. February warm spells followed by May snowstorms are all too common around here, making a fruit harvest an iffy project every year.

Inside the house, the small batch of apple cider is still fermenting. I didn't add any sugar to this batch, since it's destined for the vinegar jar, but the apples had softened and sweetened in storage - fruit sugars now still feeding the bit of yeast I added.

Outside, a bit of sun this morning and temperatures above freezing led me to think I might be able to get some sheets to dry out on the clothesline. By afternoon, I've lost the sun, but they still might dry. The chickens come running when I step out onto the deck to go see if I can bring the sheets in - she might have food!

The sheets are still damp, but I do throw a few handfuls of corn out for the chickens. More and more of them are starting to resume laying eggs as the days lengthen. Eating corn helps them stay warm at night in our unheated coop, but I want them to start eating more of the laying crumbles. Three eggs in the nest boxes today, plus a fourth they broke. I've got eggshells saved up in a jar in the house - I'll have to get them crushed up and start feeding them back to the birds. Earlier this morning I saw one of Missy's girls standing in the doorway of the old doghouse under the black walnut tree. Missy, now gone, was a notorious nest hider, and passed that trait on to some of her offspring. So I look inside the doghouse, and sure enough, there's a fresh green-shelled egg (we had an Amerucana rooster for a while) lying on the floor. I'll have to start checking in there regularly now too, I guess.

Name That Culture

Pete lives in our refrigerator. Pete came here almost 20 years ago, but I'm sure he's much older than that. As a newlywed, and new to the neighborhood, I frequently saw an elderly neighbor walking her dogs past our house, so introduced myself. She lived in the house down the street with a wonderful garden. Her husband did the gardening, she did the cooking, and although now long retired, used to run a local catering business. We became good friends. She could see me out in my garden from her kitchen window, and when I'd come in for a break and the phone would ring, I could bet it would be Mae.

But I was talking about Pete, wasn't I? As a newlywed, my husband used to reminisce about the wonderful sourdough waffles his grandma used to make, asking if maybe I could learn to make them. His grandma was long gone, and his mom didn't bother with sourdough anymore either. But I happened to mention it one day while over visiting with Mae. She pulled out her jar of starter out of her refrigerator then and there, filled up a pint jar, and gave it to me along with instructions and a couple of recipes (I've also found Adventures in Sourdough Cooking & Baking, by Charles Wilford, a great resource for additional recipes). I have no idea how long she'd kept that starter going, but I'm betting it was decades. She also told me that, since the starter needs to be cared for and fed regularly, I should also give it a name just like any other house pet.

And so, Sourdough Pete came to live with us. What got me to thinking about all this, however, was that last night I realized I have another culture living here now that needs to be fed and cared for. There's a gallon jug of apple cider fermenting away on my kitchen counter, destined for my vinegar jar up in the cupboard. And it's the mother of vinegar I got last fall that will make it happen. I've heard about the folklore saying to name your sourdough starter, but never anything about vinegar mother. But I figure it's the same principle, and I certainly don't want to discriminate. So I've decided to name my vinegar mother Jolene, and hope she'll have a long and happy life here with us too.

Just Checking In

Not too much happening outside. The snow finally melted a few days ago - long enough for me to see that some arugula seeded last fall had started to sprout. And then another series of storms moved in. We got about 3 inches of wet sloppy snow yesterday, a bit of blue sky today, and then the clouds moved in again this evening.

I've been checking on the produce in the cellar, and most seems to be keeping quite well. I separated the storage apples last fall by keeping ability and possible damage. Today, we pulled about 1/2 bushel of ones that I didn't think would last very long and crushed them for a small batch of cider. We only had to toss about six of them as complete losses, and do a bit of trimming on a few others, but they had held in amazingly good condition. They'd softened and sweetened quite a bit. Just hand-squeezing the bag of apple mush, we got about 5 quarts of juice, and then the chickens got a real treat.

I've got almost a gallon of the juice in a glass jar with a fermentation lock on it, sitting on the kitchen counter, and it's already started to bubble. My first batch of cider vinegar turned out really good, and as soon as this gallon finishes fermenting I'll bottle what vinegar I have and start another batch. The rest of the apple juice is in the refrigerator for drinking fresh.

I haven't been able to get outside much, with all the storms coming through, so I've been playing inside on the computer. Obviously, though, I haven't been working on my blog posts, although I do still manage to get my contributions onto the SGF Co-op blog whenever it's my turn. Instead, I've been playing on FaceBook - as my sister says, "it's not a social net-working site; it's a social not-working site." Ah, well - what can I say?

Zucchini Brownies

After seeing that zucchini in my last post, the Girl in the Pink Dress asked for more zucchini recipes. In early summer, when we have lots of small, fresh-out-of-the-garden zukes, they'll usually end up either in a quick sauté with garlic and onions, or breaded and baked into zucchini sticks.

This time of year, they often end up in soups and pasta dishes. But it sounds like Girl's really looking for "hidden zuke" recipes (sounds like her husband is a lot like mine). Zucchini hides well in baked goods. After quite a bit of experimenting, I've ended up with a great muffin recipe. The secret is using dry milk instead of adding any more liquid.

Even better than those, though, is a brownie recipe my Colorado sister sent me. Even though this makes a big panful, I'm lucky to get a piece or two from
Mr. Pickymy sweet husband. Sis doesn't blog, so I'm gonna post her recipe:

Zucchini Brownies (the cake type)
1¼ cup sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ cup applesauce (or can substitute oil)
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini (I use the big holes on a box grater)
½ cup chocolate chips (optional)
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mix liquid ingredients into dry, adding zucchini last. Stir in optional ingredients if using (I always do). Spread the thick batter evenly in 8" x 11" greased pan. Bake 25 - 30 minutes, 350º - until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!

The January Cellar & Pantry

Even though the past summer wasn't the best in terms of garden output, we're still eating pretty good around here. On my latest trip down into the cellar I brought up one of the last two fresh zucchinis. By purposely letting the last few zukes of the summer grow to club-size, they'll store, unrefrigerated, for a few more months. The skin has turned almost completely golden, but the flesh is still firm.

The black-eyed peas from New Year's Day are gone. I've been cooking up crockpot full of a different dried legume regularly - adding no seasoning at the time so I can then incorporate them into different recipes during the week. This week's legume is garbanzo beans. Using some of them, along with part of the zucchini, home-canned tomato sauce, storage onions, garlic, and carrots, frozen bell peppers, spinach, and pesto, I made up a minestrone-inspired stew (I put quinoa in it instead of pasta - thickening it into stew consistency, plus adding protein). Chopped fresh tomatoes (can't compare to summer tomatoes, but the last of my paste tomatoes, harvested green, eventually do turn red in storage) made a nice garnish on top at serving time.

This afternoon, we had a potluck/brainstorming session at work. Everyone brought munchies and snacks, so I put together a dried fruit platter from my pantry. Clockwise from the top, there are sliced nectarines, plum halves, raisins, pumpkin pie leather (actually, from a big pink banana squash - even better), and pie cherries, all home-grown.

Ok, Might as Well Start Writing Again

I like to take a bit of a break from posting every now and then. I wonder if it's better for those reading to have something for them to read every day, or if I don't really have anything to say, then don't. Actually, I've been quite busy - just either don't feel like writing it up, or haven't re-sized and labeled the photos that I've taken, and don't want to post without them.

Then, too, when I do take a break from writing, sometimes it's hard to get back in the habit again. Ah, well, it's not like I'm looking to set any readership records, anyway. I started this blog mainly as a way to let my mom and sisters know what I was up to, and am still amazed that it's caught the eye of so many others.

So, a brief catching up: we got the batch of beer bottled, and it should now be ready to move from bedroom down to the cellar. The Christmas decorations are all put away, and I'm washing the linens today. Red and green looks right during December, but it's a bit too strident after New Year's. While the days are still short and dark, I really like the coziness and simplicity of red and white. I've got a few projects to finish, and more lined up, and am looking at some more volunteering activities. The seed catalogs are coming in, so I've got some planning to do - figuring out if I need to order anything. I wish you all health, wealth, and happiness in 2010.

Traditional Bridal Ornaments

I've read that, according to an old German tradition, the tree of a newlywed couple should include the following twelve ornaments, symbols to insure blessing and happiness for their life together. Usually, the list is part of a pitch to sell a very pretty glass set of ornaments. But since I'm of German descent, I thought maybe my tree should have those ornaments - and besides, a household can always use more blessings and happiness. However, my tastes are much more eclectic. I figured over time I could make or find my own versions.

Angel - God's guidance in the home
Rose - affection
Rabbit - hope
Teapot - hospitality
Pine Cone - fruitfulness
Santa - goodwill
House - protection
Fruit Basket - generosity
Bird - joy
Flower Basket - good wishes
Heart - true love
Fish - Christ's blessing


I'm certainly not a newlywed any more, but I do have all twelve now. My teapot is a survivor from my old childhood doll dishes. I glued the top down, and wrapped an ornament hanger around the handle. A couple of inches in diameter, it's quite heavy, being china, so it needs to be hung a bit to the inside of my tree, closer to the trunk.

For the rabbit, I had a little pottery figurine from my first trip to Mexico (back when all you needed to cross the border was a photo ID and a copy of your voter's registration. A girlfriend and I had lots of time, but little money, so traveled via buses and trains over to, and then down, the Pacific Coast as far as San Blas - quite an adventure). By knotting a bit of gold cord around its neck, it's now an ornament (shown hanging next to some Guatemalan worry dolls glued to a hair barrette - too fragile to wear, I turned that into an ornament too).

I think the strangest one, and one of the last ones I found, is my fruit basket. I found this in a little curio shop in Willamstad, capital of the Caribbean island of Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles. It was so bizarrely strange, I knew it would be perfect. A little more than an inch across, I especially love that the strawberry, bananas, and slice of watermelon are all the same size. I'm not sure if those are grapes, or maybe breadfruit. There's also a slice of papaya and something that looks like a Delicata squash on the other side - a wonderful little piece of folk art.

A Christmas Pig, and a Batch of Home-Brew

When Aries and I were planning to elope, my co-workers wanted to give me a bridal shower anyway. They asked what we needed for our new home together. Since we were combining the households of two self-sufficient adults, we knew we would be busy getting rid of doubled-up items, and we said we really didn't need anything. When they persisted, we said fruit trees, or maybe a weaner pig.

That second request totally mystified my co-workers. They pictured a weiner-pig - some sort of dachshund/porcine pet. I explained that we meant a weaned piglet, to be raised for food. That was a bit too much for any of them to consider. But tied to the top of the box from Sandee, Maggie, and Betty was a little stuffed pig Christmas ornament, just darling with its beribboned curly tail. It's graced our tree for 20 years now.

During Aries' past "weekend", while I finished up my holiday decorating, he thought the cold and overcast day a perfect time to make a batch of beer. And it was. The humidity from five gallons of water, hops, and malt boiling on the stove warmed up the whole house; the pile of snow off the deck made a perfect spot to cool the wort enough to add the yeast. So now my holiday decor includes a 5-gallon bucket of Irish Brown Ale on the kitchen counter, bubbling merrily up through the fermentation lock.

A Tiny Reed Boat

This is one of my newer ornaments. My last big travel adventure was spending 3 weeks touring Peru. I never like carrying very much in the way of souvenirs on my travels, but always look for a refrigerator magnet and something that will work as a Christmas ornament. This little reed boat is about 4" long, the people less than an inch tall.

As part of the trip, we spent a night in Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca, and then a night out on Amanti, a rocky island in the lake, the group split up into different people's homes. On our way back to Puno, we made an afternoon stop at one of the floating reed islands of the Uros tribe.

Everything on the island is made of reeds, including the islands themselves. The islands are 2 to 4 feet thick, anchored to poles stuck in the lake bottom, and can be moved when necessary. As the bottom layers rot away, they add more to the top, creating a dry, spongy, bouncy surface (kinda like walking on a waterbed). Next to the dock where we pulled in were some of their traditional reed boats, these decorated with puma heads at either end.

First stop for our visit was a circle of reed benches, where we learned about life on a floating island. A little toddler girl came by, and was totally fascinated by me and my sunglasses. She climbed up next to me, holding my hand to keep her balance, for the entire presentation. Afterwards, each of us went to one of the islanders' homes - basically their chance to sell things to the tourists.

I speak quite a bit of Spanish, so the woman I went with (to the house in the photo, the pointy building next to it is her kitchen) and I ended up doing more visiting than vendoring. Seeing that she had a TV (solar panels provide power), I hummed the theme song from Bonanza (my universal way of getting folks to understand where I'm from - never fails), and we talked about my home, our families, and her home there. She showed me the various handcrafts she'd made to sell - lots of decorative bags and textiles, and some long hanging strings of little bits and pieces strung together like wind chimes and sun catchers. Those were too big and too fragile to try and carry the rest of my trip, but at the bottom end of one was a little reed boat, llama heads on either end, and carrying two teeny-tiny people she'd dressed in hand-woven traditional costumes. I loved it as soon as I saw it. She agreed to cut just the little boat off the end for me. Tucked into one of my shoes in my duffle bag, it made the trip home in fine shape, and now brings back wonderful memories every Christmas.

Holiday Drive-By Food Drive

I had to get up really early and drive up to Lake Tahoe to work the hotel departures for the group that came in on Monday. One of our stranger weather phenomena is that despite it being another couple thousand feet higher in altitude, it's warmer up there than it is here in Carson City. The lake is so deep it never freezes, and so helps moderate temperatures somewhat. And then, it's been quite still so we get a temperature inversion thing going on where the coldest air sinks down into the valleys.

When I got home, I bundled up in about four layers of clothing and my Santa hat, and spent the afternoon outside the Governors Mansion, volunteering for the Share Your Christmas Drive-By Food Drive. It ran from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. and there are always lots of volunteers and simply tons of food donated.

The Mansion has a circular drive in front, so cars pull in, volunteers take the offered bags of food, and the car drives out. Off to the side, others are sorting the donations and loading trucks. Our town's collection goes to the local domestic violence shelter, so there's another crew at work there, unloading the trucks and filling the storage shelves. There are also drop-off spots in Reno and farther south in the Carson Valley that go to other area food banks. One of the local TV stations does news reports throughout the day; the schools send their choirs to sing (elementary students are so cute; the high school singers are simply amazing). Temperatures never did get above freezing, and it snowed lightly off and on all day, but there was an almost steady stream of cars coming through the entire time I was there.

And tonight, the bathtub drain thawed out so we could take showers again. Hooray!

The Art of Dish Arranging

It's my turn to post on the Simple Green Frugal Co-op blog, so I've written a post entitled the Art of Dish Arranging. It might bring back some memories if you've ever lived without a dishwasher, or spark a note of recognition if you've ever unloaded a dish drainer someone else put together.


But maybe, just maybe, during this holiday season, it's not really about dishes at all. Check it out here, and let me know what you decide.

Absolutely Freezing Here

The deep freeze continues. Temps are below normal, but not all that unusual - we get a cold snap like this once or twice each winter most years. Last nights lows: outside -13F, inside 50F; today's high: 17F. The cellar is holding steady at 47F so the fruits and veggies down there are in fine shape. I got three eggs today - some of the hens are really hanging in there. I've asked Aries to stop taking eggs to work for the guys - I want to make sure I've got enough for us and my Christmas baking.

The bathtub drain froze up last night. It usually does when temps drop below zero. I'm just glad it doesn't happen very often. There's no way to thaw it out either. We just have to wait until daytime temperatures get above freezing, and that's gonna be a couple more days yet. So it means sponge baths, or short showers standing in a plastic tub that can then be emptied into sink or toilet, and baling or wet-vaccing out what's left in the bathtub (or else having a tub gradually filled with scummy, cold water). I'm thinking I'd rather wash my hair at the community swimming pool showers tomorrow (it's too long to wash easily in the kitchen sink).

I haven't put up my Christmas tree yet. Every year, I debate whether I want to bother with it, and every year I end up doing it. And I'm always glad I did, too. Sure, it's quite a bit of work (and means rearranging the furniture too), but I like having the extra lights in the living room during the darkest days of the year (and the carpet gets vacuumed underneath the couch). Even better, I love going through my ornaments once again. I made quite a few of them, and others are souvenirs from my travels. I'm thinking I'll post pictures of some of my favorites during the rest of the month.

This little hot-air balloon I crocheted in bedspread-weight crochet cotton to fit over a 3" satin ball ornament; the basket was starched and shaped over a shot glass. The pattern is in a 1984 American School of Needlework Christmas booklet by Mary Thomas. I love that I found perfectly-sized wooden Santa and Mrs. Claus figurines to ride inside.

Boys and Their Toys

The sun came out today, and the fresh snow sparkles and glitters like a million bits of glass. Here are a few more photos for those longing for snow.




I wish I could post some picturesque vistas of pristine mounds of snow, but Aries has a new toy to play with - a free snowblower he repaired and got running again. Consequently, right now our lot looks more like a giant Fox and Geese game.

Boys and their toys - what can I say?

A few statistics:
Last night's Lows: Outside -1F (that's minus 1)
Inside 54F (not too bad)

Today's High: 22F (that's with the sun shining)

Me, today: 56 :-)

Snow!

Woke up this morning to about a foot of new snow, and it kept coming down all day. Which, normally, is just fine with me. We really need the moisture - just about all of our annual average 7" precipitation comes in the form of snow. Usually, I shovel out the chickens, come in and warm up, shovel a path to the woodpile, come in and warm up, and know it will all melt away in another week or so. But this morning, I was working a group arrival on five different flights into the Reno-Tahoe Airport.

I'm so glad it was Aries' day off. He got started on the driveway while I got ready to leave. And it meant I could use his 4X4 truck. I don't think I would have made it if I'd had to take my car (BTW, it's a little sedan with a regular trunk - that's all wind-blown snow piled up on the back end).

A drive that normally takes about 45 minutes took me twice that, but I left early so made it right on time. And then spent more than five hours in the airport. First flight canceled, next two delayed, another one canceled, the last one finally came in an hour late and then sat on the runway for another hour waiting for an open gate. Had to do some shuffling around to get everyone onto their transportation up to the Lake, and then I could head home. Still snowing, my drive back took just as long.

Aries got to play with a new toy all day. He'd been given a big old broken-down snowblower earlier this year. He cleaned it up and got it running again. This was the first time he got to use it, so by the time I got home there were all kinds of paths and all of the driveway cleared, all the way back to the garage. And twenty-four hours later, it's still snowing. Wheeee!

December Cold

Oh, brrr! It feels like December now. My car had been slow starting the past couple of weeks, and then a couple of days ago wouldn't start at all. Time to go battery shopping. I was only heading out to run some errands, so it didn't bother me to stay home until Aries got home from work. I was just glad it finally died on a day when I didn't really have to be anywhere. I should be fine now. At least, I hope so.

Our night temps have been falling into the teens(F) but it's been warming up daytimes into the low 50's. With the draft dodger at the kitchen door, the styrofoam panel on the glass sliding door, inside the house has been dropping to around 60F by morning. But the sun coming in the east window warms it up enough that I usually don't bother to start a fire until afternoon.

Not today! Last night's low was 6F, and the house was down in the mid-50's by morning. Good thing I switched our bedding over to the down comforter last week. The barometer is falling and there's a miserable cold wind kicking up horrible sandstorms. Clouds moving in mean no solar warming today, and the first snowflakes are zipping by sideways. I've had a fire going for hours, and it's now warmed up to the mid-60's inside - that's a comfortable temperature for me. The house pets have stretched out from their tight little curls, bellies towards the stove. I had to take fresh water out to the birds at noon - what Aries took out in the morning before leaving for work had already iced over. Forecasts say its gonna get a lot colder in the next few days. Hello, Winter!

Good-bye to Fall Decor

I love vintage linens. When I'm in a thrift store, I head for the tablecloths and pillowcases, looking for colors that grab my soul. Then, refashioning some things, maybe doing a little custom embroidery, layering and combining things, I make the cozy home I need to feel at peace. Since early September, looking around my house makes me smile. The colors I love most of all are the earthy, fall-toned ones - the oranges, tans, and golds.

In a small house, a unified color scheme keeps things looking serene and coordinated. The flow is just better from room to room. My base decor is lots of golden-toned wood, beige backgrounds in the wallpapers, with dark green and maroon the unifying tones, present in every room. Then, by changing pillow and table covers, towels and napkins, I economically bring in a fresh look seasonally.

But now it's time to say good-bye to my fall decor; time to get out the Christmas things for their brief, five-week reign. And, you know, once I get everything switched over, I know I'll love that too.

Mites in the Chicken Coop

I received an email from Jen, asking about a mite infestation in her chicken coop, and if I knew any non-chemical remedies. We've never had a mite problem (knock on wood). I do have some old poultry reference books, so I did some research for her. I thought I'd post my reply:

When I showed your email to my husband, he said your deep straw bedding might be part of the problem. It might give the mites a place to hide out and breed. I don't know about that. We have a coop with a slatted floor, droppings pit underneath, straw only in the nest boxes. Figuring out a way to keep wild birds out of your chicken coop might prevent them from bringing in mites too. But since the mites are already there, here are a few folk remedies you can try:

*give the chickens a dustbath box or pit filled with wood ashes - it's supposed to suffocate mites. We have an open burning period in the fall, when we can burn weeds and small brush piles. Our chickens love to get out in the burn pit to dustbathe.

*try dusting your chickens with diatomaceous earth - hold them upside-down and get it down underneath their feathers to their skin (but not in their eyes); you can also put it in their feed.

*Red mites hide out by day in the cracks and crevices in wooden roosts and nest boxes, coming out at night to feed on the chickens as they sleep. To check for them, pluck one of your chickens from her roost at night and look for the mites beneath her leg feathers. A folk remedy is to chase all the chickens out of the coop in the morning, locking them out for the day. Wet down the roosts, especially underneath, and bottoms of nest boxes with a 50/50 mixture of used motor oil and kerosene, using a paintbrush or dabbing with a rag. Keep the chickens out until as late in the day as possible. You might have to repeat the treatment after 2 weeks.

*If you can see the mite, it wouldn't be scaly leg mites - they're microscopic, causing scales that stick out, and sometimes fall off, on the naked part of their legs. Washing the legs then rubbing in Vaseline, or dipping chickens' legs in salad or baby oil weekly is said to work for that.

*Depluming mites cause the chickens to pull out their feathers to try and stop the itching, leaving your chickens are almost naked. Dunk the bird, wetting it all the way down to the skin, in a mixture of 2 oz sulfur plus 1 oz soap per gallon of water.

*Last Resort - chemicals: Sevin (carbaryl) as a dust or spray, or Co-Ral (coumaphous) dust. This is the only treatment I could find for northern fowl mites, reddish or dark brown ones that spend their whole life-cycle on the bird. Look for them around the tail and vent during the daytime. If the infestation is severe, they could be on the eggs too. Insecticide powders in the feathers of a mother can kill the chicks underneath her, so any treatments have to be done well in advance of hatching.

This is Baldy. No mites here - the photo is from earlier this fall when she was molting. When the days get shorter, most of our flock lose their feathers, stop laying eggs in order to grow new ones, and then are all nice and newly fluffy when the cold weather gets here. Then, when the days start getting longer after New Year's, they start laying eggs once again.

When Baldy was a young chick, on her first day in with the rest of the flock, she found a small hole under the chicken pen fence just large enough to squeeze under, but not all the way through. The rest of the flock, vicious little beasts that they are, pecked her on the head as she lay trapped. I thought they'd killed her, but when I pulled her out she was still alive. I took her inside, sprayed her head with liquid bandage, and after a couple more days in the house she rejoined the rest of the flock. Her head comb never did grow back, though.

Thanksgiving Orange Stuff

Our weekend company is gone, and the guest room bed changed and made up again. Having an extra set of flannel sheets for that bed means I can put the room back into crafts/office mode right away, without having to rush wet sheets out onto the clothesline in gale-force freezing winds. The turkey carcass was cooked into soup last night (with barley, carrots, and mushrooms), and the leftovers are slowly disappearing. The last of the Thanksgiving Orange Stuff made a great lunch today.

Orange Stuff is one of those really retro recipes. I first tasted it more than 20 years ago, as a regular dish at my mother-in-law's Thanksgiving table, and I'm sure she'd been making it since the 1950's at least. It never really even had a name - it was just that orange stuff she always made. It's a regular on my Thanksgiving table now too.

Thanksgiving Orange Stuff
16 oz cottage cheese
8 oz Cool-Whip (thawed)
3 oz box orange Jello (dry powder)
15 oz can mandarin oranges (drained)

Mix everything together and chill until serving time.

My Texas cousins gave me their church fundraising cookbook, and this type of "salad" appears in quite a few variations - drained pineapple with lemon Jello, or miniature marshmallows with pistachio instant pudding powder. It's good enough that I always think I should make it more often.

I tried something different this year, that really ended up being a hit. Wednesday before Thanksgiving, my sister's family is on the road from California, and I'm trying to decide what to do for dinner when they get here. I need something quick, easy, that everybody will like. The refrigerator is full of food for the next day, including the brined turkey air-chilling, so there's no room for leftovers either. So, how do I feed a vegetarian, two hard-core meat-loving men, two picky but hungry teenage boys, and an omnivore (me). How about make-your-own pizza? My pizza dough recipe makes enough for two 12" pizzas. Figuring half-a-pie per person, I increased amounts by half again to feed six people. That evening, the dough divided into six equal balls, we set up a dough-rolling station, opened up a jar of tomato sauce, shredded a mountain of cheese, and sliced up a variety of topping choices. We could cook two pizzas at one time, so everyone was in the kitchen. It turned mealtime into a fun event, everybody happy and well-fed, and no leftovers. Everyone agreed that ideas's definitely a keeper.

A Bit More Canning

It seemed like this year's Bosc pears all ripened overnight, down in the cellar. One day a few were just starting to change color, by the next some were only fit for the chickens. So I had to do something to process the rest of them quick. I also had some non-storage apples starting to soften, a dehydrator tray full of the last of the grapes that hadn't dried enough to store, and the last of the Asian pears still in the refrigerator crisper. Why not just mix everything together?

So I started looking for Pear/Apple Mincemeatless recipes. Most used way more sugar than I wanted. I ended up adapting this one. As it was cooking, with the orange peel and the spices, it made the whole house smell wonderful. I ended up with six quarts, plus three more cups in the refrigerator. I'm thinking I'll add some chopped nuts when I go to make a jarful into a pie.

As long as I had the grinder out, I figured I might as well get a start on my Thanksgiving dinner preparations. I made up a batch of my favorite uncooked cranberry relish - grinding together a bag of cranberries, an orange, peel and all, and a handful of walnuts, then stirring in 3/4 cup of sugar.

The grinder I found in a rental house years ago, forgotten in a high cupboard. It leaks, so I have to put a bowl on a stool underneath when I use it. When Aries built the kitchen (before I knew him), he made a pull-out wooden shelf under part of the counter. It was supposed to be a pastry board, but I have a huge piece of recycled bowling alley for a cutting board that works even better for pastry. I use the shelf for attaching the grinder (and the apple peeler) so I don't dent my countertops or kitchen table. However, if I were around when he was building the kitchen, I would have had him put the shelf on the other side of the sink. Where it is, it's too close to the stove to attach those old right-handed appliances on the other side, where they'd be easier to use. The shelf does pull out enough, though, that I can still turn the handle. It's a bit awkward, but it works.

A Wonderful Work Table

We live in a reasonably small house - kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, one bath. It's easy to heat with only a wood stove, but means I often have to get creative in our use of space. The second bedroom (small, no closet, windows filling two walls, door on the third) serves triple duty: as a guest room, an office, and a sewing/crafts room. If I were decorating this room from scratch, I'd probably prefer a daybed/couch with a trundle underneath, or even a Murphy bed, for the guest room part.

But my husband found an Art Deco four-poster bed, matching waterfall vanity with stool, cheap, he just couldn't pass up, years ago. Those pieces take up half the room, but they're so beautiful I love them too (and it's nice having a mirror in a sewing room). Then, add a rolltop desk and a couple of filing cabinets, sewing machine and a small fabric storage dresser. The room is quite full, and still reasonably functional.

Except I needed a work table. When I'm working on a project, whether it's sewing, paperwork, scrapbooks, whatever, it's nice to be able to spread things out. I could use the living room table, but that's the first thing you see when you walk in our front door. The wind from opening the door could quickly wreak havoc, and small houses can go from cozy to cluttered way too easily. Sometimes, I end up using the living room floor, but that's certainly not ideal. Then, last year, I got a folding, 6-foot banquet table. And discovered it fit perfectly across the guest room double bed. That was nice - it gave me a place to spread out green tomatoes in the fall; cut out small sewing projects; lay out bookkeeping paperwork. It made a nice workspace, but not yet great.

And then, I noticed Target had the same folding banquet table on sale this week. Hmmmm. I took another look at my work space, tape measure in hand. There was just enough room for a second table alongside the first (without mashing the bed pillows). Perfection! Plenty of room to lay out a sewing pattern or organize clippings, but still easily convertible. I have guests coming Thanksgiving, so I'll need the bed uncovered. No problem. Both tables lift off, fold up, and store behind the door; sewing machine into case, under sewing table turned luggage stand - instant guest room. I just love it!