Sunday, September 20, 2009

"There you go, that's for you darling."

We made pie for dinner. Cherry pie. Lucy didn't know how to make pie, and that was one of the things she wanted to do this weekend so we did. And then I didn't feel like making an actual dinner (what's the fun in cooking just for myself? Lucy didn't want food either) so we just had pie for dinner. Ruth, Lucy's sister-in-law, came over for pie as well. We watched the movie "Chocolat" (and promptly wished we'd made something chocolate for dinner instead) and had our pie.
I also managed to dig up my potatoes this morning. Yay! While I was doing it, I thought that maybe I should re-name this weekend as the hunter-gatherer weekend. I got a decent amount of potatoes, though, considering the fact that I only planted I think fifteen plants. And next year I'll have the whole garden plot to myself, I think, so I can plant more. It's cool, though, because I did red and blue potatoes. The red ones produced more and bigger potatoes, so I'll concentrate on those next year. But the blue ones make great chips so Shane will be happy.
I was also thinking, while digging up the potatoes (it's like a surprise, not knowing how many you'll get or how big they'll be!) how crazy it would be to do that and wonder if you'd have enough to feed your family through the winter. Can you imagine? I have so much respect for the pioneers. That would have been so tough.
I also gathered my tiny carrots, since there is a snow advisory out for this week. (Starvation Gulch is next weekend, and it always snows, at the latest, the night of Starvation Gulch so this is fully expected.) I do mean tiny carrots, too. I told my mom they were one- to two-bite carrots. But tiny carrots is better than no carrots. And if the guys get a moose, we can celebrate next weekend with a moose roast with my vegetables. (Actually, we'll probably do that anyway.)
And I haven't heard yet if they got a moose today. They didn't yesterday. Shane called me to ask if I was all right (different story, hold on) and said they saw plenty of cows with babies, but no legal moose yet. I'm hoping the silence today is because of all the hard work in cutting up the moose meat. (No, it's not callous. Moose live as well as any animal could expect, and hunting them is better than slaughter houses.)
Anyway, yesterday Lucy and I went for our 15 mile bike ride around Farmer's Loop. We were going to start going swimming, but decided that it would be better to bike while we can and move into the (indoor) pool when it gets too cold and snowy to bike. Since we had to stop biking earlier this summer due to smoke, and then Lucy getting married and all that entailed, this is the first time in about 2 months that we've been able to do this ride. Neither of us remembered it being as difficult as it is. The whole first eight miles is in a generally uphill direction, until finally there's one giant downhill that's so much fun and it gets way easier from there on out.
After the bike ride we watched "Cold Mountain" (so sad), then went grocery shopping and finally went back to my place to watch more chick flicks. ("Moonstruck"--so bad, I kept having to remind Lucy that it's from the 80's, because "what's with the hair??!"--and "Confessions of a Shopaholic".) I also made plum jam, for which I'm rather proud of myself. I've never made jam by myself, and haven't made it at all since about middle school, maybe earlier. I was slightly injured, though, because I had to sterilize the jars and when I was trying to get them out, boiling hot water splashed up and hit the right side of my face around my eye. Not fun. I had to ice my eyelid and cheek for most of the evening after that. It's better today, though, just slightly tender and hardly red at all. And now I have jam! I kind of feel like a hausfrau with my accomplishments for the weekend: dug up potatoes and carrots; made bread; made jam. But it was fun. I have no idea if the jam will be good at all, but I'll give some to Hannah and to Lucy if it is. (Hannah couldn't come over for pie today because she had massive amounts of homework, plus work tonight.)
Now if only I could get my animals to stop pouting because Shane is gone, all would be well.
Actually, when Shane comes back, then all will be well. I have bizarre dreams when he's not around. Like the one that woke me up yesterday morning in which he nearly got arrested for car theft and I stole toilet paper from someone who wanted to charge me $10.50 to use a bathroom. This morning was much better because I don't remember what dream woke me up, but once I woke up it was nice to snuggle with the dog. And then the kitty came in to purr at me and allow me to pet him and I got to just lie there, very content. I wish every morning could be like that.

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