Making it in Toledo

Hearing the angels sing…

I grew up in way-upstate New York State, and winters were COLD. Our windows were often frosted and occasionally frozen shut. Nevertheless, on Christmas Eve our bedroom windows were always opened so that we could listen for the angels singing.

I didn’t hear any angel song today, but hearing two of my kids singing together was almost as good. I have no musical talent, but I enjoyed listening to Sam and Johanna make their way through the holiday songbook while I was cooking dinner – comfort food all the way, including short ribs from my recent purchase of a quarter cow, grass fed in Wayne Ohio and processed in Assumption. Also Southern-style grits, stored in the freezer since I bought them in Kentucky.

I’m trying not to think about the Kentucky-type weather we’ve had recently, since thinking about climate change doesn’t seem to help me or the climate.

With a week to go until 2024, I intend to do some intensive de-cluttering and end the year with a bit less excess stuff.

“Christmas is a togethery sort of holiday. …”

Getting to know Lavern…

It must be a new season, because this morning my sourdough starter whispered to me. I dutifully fed it, setting aside the discard for a batch of homemade crackers. Although my starter isn’t new, it’s still without a name.

Perhaps it’s time to address that gap. OOH !!! I just discovered a sourdough name generator. Lavern Surely Doughry will certainly help my bread production through the winter, and I look forward to getting to know her.

This is amazing! And scary. I was simultaneously making bread and texting with Liv and Bobby about AI. I know that my computer is listening to me, but is it also picking up on the yeasty tang in the air?

Today’s bake is not sourdough, but is no-knead, which, given the effect arthritis has on my hands, is welcome.

After a couple of hours at room temperature, the dough has risen a lot.

I’m hoping for a bread as gorgeous as this one I made last year.

No-knead bread can be perfect. Lavern and I will not be chasing perfection, but I predict we will have a lot of fun over the next few months.

Go with the slow

On Tuesday I picked up a bushel of gorgeous bi-color corn raised by Dave Bench and available to me through my CSA, Shared Legacy. I shared 3 dozen ears with friends, which was a good thing because a bushel is a LOT of corn. We’ve had corn soup and corn salad (no particular recipe, but I dressed it with the salsa from Tuesday’s soup). I’ve put 8 bags of corn in the freezer. Makes me feel very wealthy.

Fresh, but not up to the standard of my childhood, when the practice was to pick the corn AFTER the water came to a boil…

John is away from home this week, attending a public health conference in Tacoma and visiting his brother on a small island in the San Juans. Aloisa’s food tastes are within a narrow and fairly boring range, and Johanna seems happy with a few old favorites. I don’t intend to do a whole lot of cooking, since I miss John’s enthusiasm. It’s amazing how much time opens up when I’m not cooking. I read the first (and only, so far) book in a series I hope to follow for a long time. Featuring a male clothes-obsessed detective is a nice twist.

In contrast to the quiet all around me, the tiny pond ecosystem is bustling and bursting with goldfish, mosquito-fish, and tadpoles, all nibbling on the duck weed. I love to sit and watch, especially since the water lily has bloomed.

busy, but tranquil…

“…to be slow means that you govern the rhythms of your life. You are in control of deciding how fast you have to go.” Carlo Petrini

No rush….spring break

We needed a break and decided to do a timeshare trade that will also allow us to see Olivia. After a brief time in Oakland we arrived in Calaveras County, nineteenth-century Gold Rush country. Our first couple of days were hot (pool weather), but we’ve settled into more typical temps.

Our first adventure was to the Calaveras Big Trees park, and it lived up to its promise with trees that are the most massive on earth:

Definitely a BIG tree

This park had to close for a bit in the winter because the trails couldn’t be cleared: they ran out of places to pile snow! In the midst of the trees there is a wet meadow, now holding much of the snow melt.

I loved this part of the park

Angel’s Camp, California, is our home base and a perfect place to zone out, catch up on reading, and explore a few wineries. We bought a couple of bottles from Twisted Oak and then enjoyed the view of their vines:

Twisted Oak has a focus on bold red wines.

and then we got lost:

A refuge is always welcome…

Pretty sure we were trespassing, and we didn’t see any gypsies, but this was a lovely and mysterious detour and we eventually made it back to the road.

The best food we’ve found in town reminded us that the Gold Rush attracted people from all over, especially Mexican miners whose heritage probably explains the menu we enjoyed at lunch -Chile rellenos and agua fresca.

More adventures await!

Nothing but blue skies…

A new (ad)venture! We’re installing a bluebird nesting box in our backyard. Having spotted a frequent visitor at our feeder (a hungry female) we have reason for hope. Having bought a pole, a raccoon baffle, and a nesting box this morning, we are ready to welcome a crowd. Because I am not eager to deal with live mealworms, I bought a package of dried ones. We already had the nearby shelter, the splashing water, and the birdbath. Here’s the goal:

If this works, I”ll share results here.

Begin again?

Oh, dear. I’ve neglected my blog for weeks, and all my pictures have disappeared! But thank goodness I have a place in my new kitchen to start over:

I’m relatively comfortable with tech, but certainly inexpert in wordpress. So, reluctantly, I think I’ll focus on new posts and not worry too much about what I have lost. This is a start.

So close!

Although we’re waiting on the Moroccan tile for the backsplash, we haven’t taken delivery of the appliances yet, there is some electrical work to be completed, and a few other details remain, I can almost smell the bread I’ll be baking. The red on the floor is just paper protecting the real deal. The faucet isn’t yet connected to anything. But we’re getting there!

I love the main island, and I’m looking forward to a smaller, just-the-right-height-for-me, mobile island on this side, between the sink and the range.

On this side, between the working kitchen and the sitting area, we’ll store our everyday dishwear. I expect the two counter stools on the left will be the best seats in the house when I’m cooking or Aloisa is gaming.

On this side, we’ll store our everyday dishwear and add 2 counter stools which I expect will be the best seats in the house when I’m cooking or Aloisa is playing games online. The sitting area won’t change much, just the color update, a new fan and hopefully more organized storage on the shelves.

I’m hoping we can celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Ox in our new kitchen.

Decisions, decisions….

Throughout the remodeling process, I have been decisive. I know what I like, and once I’ve made a decision I don’t look back. Perhaps that streak had to end, and it did. When it came time to choose wall colors I was paralyzed. I’ve collected dozens of color cards. I’ve held them up to my cabinets, my flooring, my counter top sample, the backsplash tile, and my favorite botanical prints. I’ve purchased quart samples (the smallest available) of seven potential choices. I’ve chosen and discarded pinks, yellows, greens, ivory and cream. I’ve solicited opinions from everyone in my household, several friends and relatives, my designer, my contractor, his assistant, his painter, and an appalling number of paint-store employees. Alex, who’s done most of the painting, has patiently put up the samples on selected walls. We’ve looked at these colors in daylight, in the evening, in a corner facing east and in the nook that will eventually contain the new range.

The whole point is to live life and be – to use all the colors in the crayon box.

RuPaul

Samples over the old color – lemon grass on top, bamboo shoot in the middle…

Sample colors on new drywall – bamboo shoot in the middle, lemon grass below.

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
Theodore Roosevelt

Just as I was ready to tear out my hair, the painter, Bob, referred me to a color genius, Sue, who brought it all together for me in about 15 minutes of asking the right questions and making the right suggestions. So I”m not asking for more opinions. The walls will be “lemon grass” and the back ground of the bookcase wall will be “bamboo shoot”.

What shall I do with all those hours that are no longer needed for this choice?

It’s Coming Together…

A lot happened in the kitchen while I was eating my way through NOLA.

Now that I can see things coming together, I’m ready to choose backsplash tiles and wall color. There is a lot left to do, and it will be a few weeks yet, so it’s a good thing I like my contractor, John Schmalzried and his Kolina Construction team.

I can’t wait to use and share this space!!

Plotting and Planning

I didn’t really understand how much would have to be deconstructed to get the space ready for my new kitchen. And how much behind-the-scenes work would be needed. The dumpster decorating the driveway. Making the floor level (in our 100-year old house, it may be the only level surface). Creating a space for a hood, which will definitely be an improvement over the downdraft vent in my old stove. The upgrades to “mechanicals”, aka plumbing and electric. Instead of the old track lighting, we now have “wafers” and I”m already thrilled with the increased light and the decreased clutter.

I’m a lot less thrilled with “cooking” being limited to a microwave and a toaster oven. Worse, using disposable dishes or “washing” dishes in our tiny bathroom sink or even upstairs. I put a few things in the freezer in anticipation, we’ve gone out a lot, and my friends have fed us generously.

I also had lost track of just how much stuff I had accumulated. Forty years ago I wanted a lot of detail. Grooved doors on the cabinets, open on both sides. A second sink. Two ovens. Extra burners, because somehow the stove wasn’t enough. In the years since, I’ve added everything I ever wanted and subtracted almost nothing. And all of it, even things I use once or twice a year, close at hand. This time I’m aiming for less chaos. Everything I need and more, but organized.

The first kitchen was designed for just me, because no one else cooked. Someone called it a “power kitchen.” This one, I think, will better accommodate some (admittedly limited) sharing. BUT it will include one workspace designed to be comfortable for me, at my not-quite-five-foot height.

That’s just one thing being plotted and planned with the help of Taylor Billings at WS. I appreciate having the chance to work with a designer who has helped me see what’s possible beyond my own ideas. I LOVE having a plan. And with John Schmalzried, whose Kolina Construction has kept things moving along while implementing the plan and handling the surprises.

So far, so good….