Yay for productivity, and walks with pups!
I hope Tilly's cough resolves.
My plan for today is making a good list of what I have to do to go north. My SIL arrives for a 10 visit the day after I leave so she is going to stay here with her friends rather than couch surfing with the other sibs. So I have to make a list for her to close up the place when she leaves. Things like bring in all the balcony furniture and empty perishables from fridge. I don't know how long Brendon will stay in Otter Lake, and hurricanes seem to spin up quickly these days.
We went and visited his mother yesterday so he could fix stuff with her sink and car, and I made her a quiche. I don't think I will get a chance to go and see my sibs before I head out, but we'll see how the week goes. I leave Friday morning.
My packing for 5 months is just pet stuff and my vitamins and meds, along with clothes and toiletries for the few days on the road. In the past, I have brought pretty much all my clothes, but now I have north and south clothes. A big part of my packing used to be cooking related with all my favorite spices and base ingredients. I am trying really hard to do that on both sides instead. I've duplicated my kitchen tools, but the ingredients are trickier. I need to purchase minimum quantities up there this year because I can't leave them up there over the winter. Canned goods turn to mush, and spices solidify from freezing and thawing repeatedly for months. People who cook understand just how many items are required staples. (I may make an exception for my Indian spices because I am not even sure there is a good market for those near Otter Lake) So maybe a small staples box in the trunk.
Yay Tilly is her name and she likes hikes! Boo on the cough and hope it’s easily treated!
Brenda you’re reminding me that I need to coordinate someone to work on my cabin this summer. I have zero time to do it and I need a new deck and someone to figure out a water seepage issue. And general contractors are very hard to find up there.
It’s glorious weather up here in CT and I’m enjoying the long weekend of gardening and yard stuff. I’ve got a water saturation issue in the backyard that really needs to be dealt with sooner than later, so my plumber is headed over today to temporarily plumb the sink/dishwasher to the septic (instead of the “dry”well they currently feed into). It’s temporary because the existing septic tank isn’t graded for this expanded house, so I’m installing a whole new septic system as soon as we have the permits. But I can’t deal with the saturated drywell anymore - every time I do dishes now, my back patio floods and it’s really gross. Because it’s grey water, it’s not as gross as it could be, but it still smells yucky and the Snarflebutts think it’s the BEST THING EVER to roll in!!!! 😩😫 So, yeah. Home-ownership is so much fun!!!
I had NOT thought about the spices and food thing happening at Otter Lake, Laura! I forgot that your place is seasonal and gets super cold in winter.
Laura have you considered a small root cellar? I did some searching for food storage for seasonal cabins and lots of forums exist where people talk about digging a few feet into the ground below the frost line, and sinking a steel container (even a trash can in one case) into the ground to keep their winter food stuff. Would something like that work for you? It’s fascinating reading about the people who for part of the year can only access their cabin via snowshoes - so to avoid hauling groceries they come up with creative solutions!
Javachik, I do use my nephew's basement for that purpose. It stays in the 50s all winter. I have stored my canned goods there but haven't tried spices. I'm not sure how they would do in the moisture. I probably could pack up the spices and stick them in a closet or under a bed in their house. Anything has to be better than carrying the stuff back and forth!
It's surprising how many kitchen staples I find essential, and spices are expensive!
I need to purchase minimum quantities up there this year because I can't leave them up there over the winter. Canned goods turn to mush, and spices solidify from freezing and thawing repeatedly for months. People who cook understand just how many items are required staples. (I may make an exception for my Indian spices because I am not even sure there is a good market for those near Otter Lake) So maybe a small staples box in the trunk.
I will note that Oaktown Spice ships all their spices and blends (which are fresh and top tier). So you could just order them after you arrive in Otter Lake and order-to-need.
I'm sure you've considered that kind of option, but it seems like it would mitigate the hauling of stuff and over-supply that will go bad in the winter.
Matilda is socializing all weekend between her two proms and a birthday today, so I've barely seen her. But I planned for that and had a social day yesterday.
Called up my downstairs neighbor, Jamille, to go get coffee and baked goods because I knew her son was away with his grandfather this weekend. So that was lovely ad hoc, no planning get together. I really love having her as my tenant and it's been fun growing that relationship into a friendship.
I had planned a call with another friend in the morning, but she's got Covid was feeling rundown. But later in the day we were texting and she was feeling low so I called her and we talked briefly and I think it cheered her up.ing
Had a difficult but overdue talk with an in-person friend as we needed to address some hurt feelings and miscommunication. I'm getting better at this kind of talk, even though they're squirmy. I have to coach myself before hand to keep it from being confrontational or accusatory, don't try to "win" the argument, don't litigate the facts.
Just go in open hearted, not defensive, and talk about why you feel that way and offer some solutions (better communication, better scheduling, separating certain activities etc.). It turned out to be a good talk and resolved the main issue. We both had some good insights in how the other processes/expects and it returned us to a place of happy affection.
Finally another phone call with a friend who is going back into the Peace Corps in her 50s after a fairly difficult and dark time in her life (father's death, dog's death, career stalling). So planning on her coming out for a visit in August before she goes to Macedonia in September.
It's good to hear that your difficult decision went well, David. The anticipation of such talks is so stressful.
Reflecting on our visit to SF last week, we were impressed by how the hotel's security staff interacted with the homeless with compassion and good humor. They had obviously established a relationship with the regulars. They were kind and friendly with both hotel guests and the street people. It made me feel better about humans.
Wow entering the peace corps in her 50s is quite a change! Good luck to her.
I bring spices for baking to Palm Springs every year because it’s just easier and cheaper than buying them once we get there, and I usually want to bake Christmas cookies. But I’ve also bought other spices once there and brought them home so now have double the like, onion powder.
Wow entering the peace corps in her 50s is quite a change! Good luck to her.
She worked in the Peace Corps before, and also several years on a Reservation.
