Weekly Update: 11.2.24
Dawn came late this week, creeping into the eastern sky long past 7 a.m. It made for long, fumbling mornings of coffee fixed by flashlight and tent cleaning by lamp light. It was strange, making me actually look forward to the end of daylight savings time tomorrow -- something I usually dread.
It was a busy though not exciting seven days. After leaps of progress over the last month, this week felt like a slow crawl forward. There were plenty of sweet moments -- like baking our first pies in our new oven. We made pumpkin -- one traditional and one a Paleo option. Both turned out beautifully. We grilled wings and cheered on the Chiefs. And we slowed down long enough to help our neices and nephew dress up for a church event.
We had some setbacks as well. Two days after using our new Frigidaire range, discoloration appeared around the rim. I tried everything to remove it. We had babied the new stove, and we couldn't figure it out. I called Frigidaire, and they sent a technician this week to assess the problem. I found out yesterday that he will be repairing the stove in the coming weeks. We are all relieved -- as we didn't want our stove to be damaged so quickly.
We also decided to return our three-compartment kitchen sink to Home Depot. We had unboxed and set it up near its final location. As I was looking it over and discussing the plumbing with Levi one day, I noticed one of the bowl dividers was bent. As I was examininging the bend, I discovered deep scratches in the bottom of two of the basins. We hadn't even removed all the packaging. Thankfully, we have one-year returns due to a Home Depot credit card. So, Levi loaded up the sink and took it back when they went to Springfield this week. We shopped around and ordered another sink -- which we can hopefully pick up this next week.
Grace and I made slow progress in the bunkhouse. We spent one day just doing some cleaning and organizing. It is amazing how quickly things get out of hand when you are living on a jobsite. Installing our interior siding on the highest part of our living room walls proved very time consuming, as we worked only a couple rows at a time, sliding the saffolding back and forth. We are focusing on the areas around our soon-to-be hearth, so that we can use the scaffolding before the wood stove will be in the way.
On Thursday, Bonnie-Jean and Grace preserved the last of our green tomatoes. They made a large pot of green tomato salsa. After pouring it into jars, they processed it in a boiling water bath -- in our turkey fryer. It was quite a production, and the smells were phenominal. I spent most of the day in bed with a migraine, but I enjoyed seeing their progress whenever I got up. I know I'll enjoy sampling the salsa this weekend.
We adjusted our daily schedule again this week, as we try to find an efficient way to redistribute our camp chores so that we can get the most done on the house. Grace and I will be helping more with breakfast prep, as we hope to free up Bonnie-Jean so she can work on the siding. This week, Grace made some delicious paleo pumpkin breakfast balls. They were a festive and healthy start to our fall mornings. She also whipped up a delicious paleo chocolate banana bread in the bread maker.
Bonnie-Jean has been keeping the family stocked in pantry staples. She has been making bread almost daily in Jeremiah's bread maker, experimenting with flavored varieties of sourdough. Jalapeno cheddar has been a favorite all around. She also has kept us in homemade mayo, made with either olive or avacado oils, as we have tried to eliminate seed oils from our diet.
One day this week, Grace and I hung new twinkle lights in the wall tent. We replaced some burned out strands, and we added some new ones in preperation for the longer evenings starting on Sunday. Days of wind, culminating in a summer-like storm Wednesday night, changed our land. Most of our autumn leaves blew away, lighting our woods and letting us see into the trees. The cool air whispers newness, and I couldn't help feeling something deeper Friday morning than the changing of another month. Along with our groceries this week, we picked up ingredients for festivity -- candy for a kids treasure hunt, and some pretty plates for Thanskgiving. For the first time this year, I donned a coat and stocking cap on my way out of the tent. The holidays are around the corner, and our days in the tent our numbered. Change is coming, and we hurry to be ready.
