Sunday, February 18, 2007

stuff going thru my mind

Where's the suet feeder? I went out to fill it this afternoon, since we have an abundance of suet in the freezer from the beef we bought, but when I got out to the old spruce tree the feeder was nowhere to be found. Apparently it was knocked down, by a cat or a red squirrel, and when the dogs were out they dragged it into the woods somewhere. I will try to improvise with an onion bag tomorrow until I can find something better.

I was in the new house today for a few minutes, dreaming and visualizing where stuff is going to be. It's hard to think too much when it's below freezing in there, but I do this just to keep sane. We're on track. It[s going to happen. And then I got to thinking about how my generation, and all subsequent ones, have been taught this instant gratification thing, that everything has to be completed all at once. But it's a given that, when we move in here the drywall won't all be up, the flooring will be the plywood that is there now, and there will be a lot of work to do. After three years living in a tiny cabin, I can deal with that. But about the indoor plumbing...let's put that on the fast track...

I made a soul-satisfying soup and caraway rye bread for dinner. Yes, I dragged the bread machine out from a long hiatus, and the results were wonderful. I think I could live on whole wheat caraway rye, with a little anise and fennel thrown in. I also transferred our Baltic Porter from the primary fermenting bucket, where it has been a little bit too long, to the glass carboy. The reason being, I've been trying to clean the carboy but every time I set it on its side on the floor of the cookshed, the water freezes. There's this crust of hops and yeast from the last beer (Belgian Witbier) on the shoulders of the carboy that would only go away by soaking, which meant I had to lay the carboy on its side in the cookshed. But when it's twenty below outside, everything on the floor of the cookshed freezes. But today I finally cleaned off the crust enough, but not completely. I sampled the beer as it went in, and all was well. Now I just have to get a case or two more bottles...

Calvin had a friend over today, and together they figured out how to hook up Sally and Togo for sled rides. Good for them, and good for the dogs, who really needed to get out and play. Now I need to look up some info on how to train dogs to run a straight line...

I have the day off tomorrow, President's Day holiday! My last Monday holiday for a few months. Maybe I'll spend some time giving this blog some overdue attention...

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Geez, I have to work on Monday. No holiday for me!

So when is moving day for you. Are you thinking it will be this summer? Sooner?

R.Powers said...

I'm trying to get my head around the idea that a floor is so cold it freezes liquids set upon it.

Unknown said...

You know I do the same thing. I take the long walk to the back of the property at least once a day if I can get out of the house. I look at the giant hole in the ground and at the distant mountains and the trees, it does make me feel better.

Deb said...

pablo- the steel roofing is in at the big box building center, just gotta get some wood to go with it and budget to pay the carpenter to put it up. Then there's wiring, drywall, plumbing, etc. Early summer, I'm thinking!

FC- Welcome to Minnesota, the land of frozen floors. Or, to put it more mildly, "microclimates". The dogs' water froze in their bowl (which is inside) during the recent cold snap. But it got above 32F today, for the first time in about two months, so we're much happier now. :)

silver maple leaf- Dragonfly, you've been busy, all those blogs! :) House building is such a long journey, isn't it, and sometimes you just have to get out there, celebrate what you've accomplished, and look ahead.

gtr said...

Hey, Deb-

Yes, Monday holiday was great! I had the day off, too. Good luck with the house project. I can't imagine dog water freezing IN the house; brrrr!

Thanks for letting us know about the music in Superior: would be fun to meet you! But we'll be up the shore a bit for a rare night away. Maybe another time?