Rainy day games

Auggie usually has much cat business to be out and about taking care of. He comes in every so often meowing for my attention and a back scratch prior to getting some food. Then out again until about 3:00 p.m. when he comes in for a long nap.

But, Tuesday, it rained and apparently none of the toys in his toy bucket appealed…

But, my paperwork did…

And it is extra fun if you play with it upside down.

And it crackles more if bent.

Done.

Time for a bath.

Not too much damage.

Today, the sun came back out and all was fairly normal.

Rain is forecast for tonight and tomorrow…

Good stuff

It was a good weekend. The weather was picture-perfect Fall weather with sunny skies, cool temperatures and clear air. I made it nearly through my chore list … still half the yard to “pick-up sticks”, but the motorhome and garage are emptied of freezable stuff, the motorhome is winterized, the yard tools have changed places with the snow thrower in the garage and basically we progress toward being ready for Winter.

Saturday was Bear’s 11th birthday and we celebrated with many treats, extra walks and salmon for supper.

By 5:00 today (Sunday), after some food prep for the coming week, I was ready for a sit-down.

From my kitchen chair, the gold of the larch made a beautiful background through the window. The larch are at their peak and now dropping their golden needles. By next weekend, they might be mostly bare. I thought about that as I have been enjoying them through the window from my chair for the past week.

It is a short time from when the trees are pure gold, to when they are bare. Every year, I tell myself to be ready to enjoy them, to not miss a moment of their beauty. This year, even though we still need rain (or snow!), it has been sunshine and blue sky more often than not and the colors seem brighter than ever before.

I sat and enjoyed and counted myself so very fortunate in so many ways. I am so grateful for Bear and Auggie, for our warm and comfortable home, for a nice yard and woods to share with them, for good work I enjoy and the list goes on. I sat and basked in all of the good stuff as Sunday wound down.

Auggie was napping in the boy’s room – not a usual spot, but the heat is cranked up to 68F in that room…

… as my first try at a sourdough starter grows. This is Day 3 and things look good and bubbly and smell slightly sour.

Bear is in the bedroom, behind the bed. That room is a cool 60F and the floor is about 50F. I know the floor temperature because in a different corner is my “cold storage” of the remaining green tomatoes.

A small pizza is in the works for supper, then some reading and a cup of tea before ending the day and the week.

Good stuff.

Fall Light

The larch have turned gold.

It is cooler, blue sky, perfect weather for Bear, Auggie and me.

The larch seem to have their own Fall light – spectacular when the sun hits them.

And Auggie … in Fall Light.

Weekend Projects

Saturday started with sunshine…

… and a loaf of bread. This bread … it is a continuation of my pursuit of the perfect pumpernickel/dark rye. This one is very, very close. The flavor is perfect, the crust is crisp, the interior crumb just needs a bit more rise before baking. Still, it made a great Reuben, wonderful toast with butter and jam. Sliced very thin and toasted worked for lox, cream cheese and capers. (The beginning: Dark Rye)

After a trip to town, I spent the rest of the day snuggled up in bed with Bear and Auggie watching PBS Mystery … allergy stuff from the very dry woods got to me again and I gave up on the outside chores.

But, Sunday dawned cloudy, cool and with a wee bit of rain, so feeling much better I started on an Apple Crumb Pie.

A new pie crust recipe as well as a new filling recipe: Mel’s Apple Crumb Pie There is a link to the crust in the post and on the crust post a video tutorial. The video is so much fun as Mel’s 3 year old daughter assists – AND I learned a couple of pie crust tricks as well.

After getting the pie in the oven for a 60-90 minute bake, I decided to tackle the kitchen cupboard hardware. Both the knobs and pulls (see Hardware: Part 1 and Hardware: Part 1.5 ) arrived last Monday. I tried not to think about them and gradually decided on…

Knobs. And I was happy.

No second guessing, no more dithering – I liked the way they looked.

Done.

Knobs on doors, pulls on drawers.

And Pie!

It is a great pie: deep dish apple with a streusel topping.

The weekend projects went well.