After a lovely cross country ski in the woods, I returned home.
The chop before the storm
Preparing for a storm is different in the north country. We don’t run out to buy milk or gas. We make sure the snowblower is accessible, the generator starts and the wood is stacked.
I split a stack of poplar the other day and it was a delight. No knotty, gnarled roots. It was very gratifying. It went so well, I decided to video the process. I imagined it would be amusing, in later years, to look back and watch myself, capably, reducing logs to firewood.
Not so much. I was capable, I did split the wood beautifully but I also grunted, breathed audibly and sniffled a lot (the temperature was in the teens). The video remains in my private library.
When I was done splitting wood, I walked down to the river to straighten out my back. The river was frozen in spots but running elsewhere.
There were signs of summer where the snow had melted. A beachball (?) in the culvert
a purple, plastic flower in the grass
and a rings of gold along the road.
My most important kitchen gadget
My kitchen is 36 square feet and I have to be very discerning about equipment I bring into it. Generally I am not a fan of single use gadgets because they have to earn their storage space. Presently my bread maker, pasta maker and soda machine reside outside of the kitchen! I rely mainly on manual labor. I don’t own an electric mixer, dough hook, fryer or toaster oven.
I’m a fan of, the critically acclaimed, Downton Abbey and am keeping current with the episodes as they are aired here. (My daughter has already finished Season 3 on the British Network.) Anyway, no spoilers here, but in this week’s episode, Mrs. Patmar advised Ethel to set timers while she prepared a meal. That got me to thinking. When did they invent timers? The hourglass had been in use since possibly the 8th century and was downsized to be used in the kitchen as an egg timer. But it was entirely visual and required the cook’s attention to realize time had run out. The only egg timers in my house are associated with board games.
They wouldn’t work for me in the kitchen. I’m sure I would miss the end. I would look at the timer and wonder how much time had passed since the last grain of sand fell to the bottom. I rely entirely on bells and whistles. Is that a function of the our lifestyle? I generally multitask and get easily distracted by shiny things. I need multiple types of stimuli to follow time and this seems to be common. Bells ring, buzzers buzz and my iPhone does both. Even with timers, I forget things in the kitchen.
Mechanical timers were invented in 1926 by Thomas Norman Hicks and I think this is later than the third season of Downton Abbey. I don’t want to read too much about the season because I might find spoilers. This means Ethel prepared her delicious meal while watching sand fall. I couldn’t do it. Despite the gadgets and quality cookware I do own, without multiple timers ringing, my kitchen endeavors would be a disaster.
Yesterday my timers were set to help me make a curried butternut squash apple soup and to roast a bunch of butternut squash in the oven. I wonder what I will have time for today?
Woman’s work
Somewhere this week, perhaps in a medical journal, I read that couples who perform traditional domestic roles at home are happiest. I am very happy. But not traditional.
Yesterday I conquered the remainder of our, phase one, wood pile. This is wood we acquired 2-3 years ago and its time has come to warm the house. I developed a new way to shorten the logs because I was having all sorts of trouble with the chain saw – most importantly, I can’t start it the first time if it’s cold outside.
I split everything but the gnarly, root like pieces of wood, made a pile, then cut them to length with the table saw. Pretty sweet. I filled the wood box, made a nice pile for future use and am ready to attack the next phase of wood, popple (poplar) which splits like buttah. Very rewarding.
My back was a little broken and I wore holes in two pairs of wool gloves. Time to darn them and make a pair of traditional Adirondack buff mittens, the loggers, like me, used to wear.
This photo is from the Adirondack Museum.
I have two knitting projects, one weaving project and a quilt in the works.
I’m working on a pair of bird mittens for a birding enthusiast. I was thrilled when I figured out how to flip the chart to reverse the pattern and to reverse the color scheme of the chart, digitally, with the flick if a switch. I was so clever, I forgot to knit the opposite chart on the second mitten.
I put the mittens aside and started a birthday hat yesterday.
The loom is warped and I’m dazzling myself with an advancing twill.
I have a lot to learn to keep happy.
Unfinished business
It’s a sad day when you are invited to raid another crafter’s home. I didn’t know this woman but friends did and her widower kindly offered to give away her fabric stash and library. I’m not an opportunist, but got more involved in weaving after I acquired equipment, I couldn’t even name, at an auction of another local crafter’s home (raddle and bobbin winder).
In both instances, the saddest items to see were the unfinished works in process. Were they abandoned earlier or still active projects? The family had already gone through everything and this is what they didn’t want.
A baby quilt, which only needs a few seams, with Dresden plates I would probably never make myself.
Or a larger version.
With a separate patch quilt. 
Some patches and more Dresden Plates.
And, what I thought was a reasonable amount of fabric.
This made it imperative to organize my fabric, which had been stuffed into shelves. I try to make it seem as if I don’t have a lot because, not only do I have a store of fabric, there is raw fiber for spinning; spun and purchased yarn for knitting; weaving cotton for weaving; and fabric for quilting. It will be much harder to find my entire stash because it is literally tucked away all over the house. In what appear to be empty suitcases, in an old trunk, in various baskets. I read about one woman who stored her yarn in the “boot” of her car.
All of this made me think of organizing at least my fabric, craft library and weaving cotton.
First, all the fabric went into piles with similar prints or colors.
Then it went back on the shelves with more order. Now if only Tim would straighten out his stuff.
Almost finished projects were kept together and I will piece them in a pinch. In the meantime, I went back to working on my blue and white quilt with a clear head.
Mother Nature’s hot flashes
She’s experiencing them now. We’re in the middle of our January Thaw. It’s a well accepted phenomenon at mid-lattitudes, and here in the North Country, that the week surrounding January 25 has higher than expected temperatures. It’s described as a sinusoidal pattern, the curvy line from highs to lows. The swings in the temperature increase during the January thaw to more than 10 degrees above normal. It’s more unusual when it doesn’t happen.
Our weather station reports that yesterday hit a high of 51. And the wind blew all night, with gusts to 37 mph ( which beats all of 2012, with a high wind of 36 mph) the birches swayed, the house creaked, rain fell in buckets, and I was tucked happily inside.
Two days ago, this was my view.
A sweet little cabin in the woods
Today I see this out the window.
I’m pretty sure this will come with a rainbow sometime today because it’s sunny, cloudy and snowing lightly. The temperature is already dropping and is supposed to fall to 7 degrees f by tonight. The good news is six months from now, July 24, is predicted to be the warmest of the year.
City folks just don’t get it
I’ve begun to take rural living for granted. Not much surprises me. I answer the door in my pajamas because I don’t expect visitors. I never think of stealing a car, left running in a parking lot, while the owner shops. I wave to everyone I pass (and they wave back). I love listening to the eerie sound of coyotes howling at night and following all the critter tracks during the day.
We are blessed with awesome neighbors. You never know who you are going to live near and we lucked out. We can’t see one another but we know they’re there if we need them. Too bad there’s not a review site like Yelp or Trip Advisor to find out about your potential neighbors before you move in.
I took a double take the other night though while watching TV. An ad appeared for farmersonly.com, “a dating site for farmers because city folk just don’t get it.” Really? Is dating so much different between city and country folk? I used to work crazy hours but didn’t have a dating site devoted to sleep deprived medical residents. I think the work hours are probably the biggest difference. Here’s a link to one if the commercials on YouTube. I would love to know if this commercial plays in urban/suburban areas too.
As predicted, the weather turned nasty today. It rained, was very windy and most of the beautiful snow melted and turned to mud. I stayed indoors (maybe I got dressed today) and am knitting mittens for a birder friend.
And I measured a warp for my next weaving project, twill placemats.
There is so much order at the outset of a weaving project. Then the fun begins.
Winter woods
Our house surrounded by snow
We received about 4 inches of fresh powder yesterday while I worked. When I woke up I jumped out of bed and put my skis on. Well not exactly. I lounged around the house until 12:30 or so, then clambered outside. I hit a new low today when I accepted a package from the FedEx man in my long johns. My pride thrown out the window in trade for a package.
Skiing was awesome. The woods were quiet and I cut new tracks along the river. Occasionally a pine tree threw a snowball at me and freed its branch when I skied near it.
There were all sorts of treasures in them there hills.
This is the view from the hill in back of the old homestead.
Next off to the little ski area next to my house. It still operates on a quasi-private basis, mostly on the weekends. During the week, it’s all mine.
Rusted abandoned ski tow equipment in the woods
This is the first rusted equipment I found on my journey. It’s right below an abandoned ski lift. Supports still stand on the hill but there aren’t any chairs.
snow cat
This guy never made it up the hill.
The newer equipment still shines. Here’s the gear to get you up the hill. Notice the benches in the bed of the truck? Sweet.
Snow cat people mover
Rusted snow cat in the woods
Still stream in the woods
I’m glad I had a chance to play in the snow today. It’s supposed to be 50 f and raining the next couple of days.
Lobster and chips
I took a trip across the lake today to the big city. Big, as in town with a grocery store where I can buy tarragon. It was a lovely day for a ferry ride, there was some chop, the boat was rolling and sea fog drifted across the water.
The view home was pretty sweet.
During my last trip to the state liquor store, where the taxes and therefore prices are lower, I met a Mainer who sold lobsters. I don’t trust or eat much seafood in the Adirondacks and I had a hankering for lobster.
I picked up a couple of beauties and decided this time I would cook them humanely by pithing them first. Maybe it was good for them but it was a little traumatic for me.
Last year I bought a healthy chip maker made by Mastrad and wrote about it here. It was stuffed away in a cabinet and I had forgotten about it. I dusted it off, sliced and salted a potato and made a delicious, low calorie batch of potato chips.
It couldn’t be easier and the key is the slicer, which cuts the veggie paper thin. Then they are laid out on a silicone cooker, zapped for 2 minutes and away you go.
Don’t try it with kale though. I almost burnt the house down as outlined here.
The (quilting) universe delivers
Well, actually my email delivers. I’m headed off to visit family today, and like Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin, “I never visit empty handed.” But what to bring a couple who have everything. Maple syrup is always a good standby because we have delicious, local syrup in large quantities.
I opened my email yesterday and found a new video was uploaded by Missouri Quilt Company. The tutorial demonstrates a french braid table runner. I told Tim I was thinking about making a table runner and he said, “that’s the most useless gift ever.” Perfect.
I found some stash material. My work area was already set up because I’m working on a large quilt. By noon, I had it pieced and by dinner it was put together and quilted.
I stitched in the ditch with my walking foot for the borders and then practiced machine quilting. My little Singer featherweight doesn’t like any of the free motion foots I have tried. So, I use my regular foot, cover the feeder dogs with a business card and loosen the presser foot. It seems to work.
Once again the universe delivers. I have my gift and a lap blanket for the ride since the thermometer read 19 below zero this morning.
Island and North Country Life 