Cold Weather Tasks

Hello, friends.  The chickens have begun laying eggs again, giving us a few a week.  I found frozen wild blueberries for $2 off, at the grocery store, which I use daily in smoothies.  Another day, I shopped at Harris Teeter after an appointment, and received the 5% senior discount.   A large L-shaped tear in a pair of J's pants was mended with an iron-on patch, which was then reinforced with sewing.  During some especially cold days a few weeks ago, I noticed frigid air coming into the kitchen, below some doors which lead into non-heated space.  My ex built this corner of the house quite off-plumb, so for the doors to open across the floor as needed, they ended up being as much as an inch and a half above the floor when closed, which allowed a lot of air to move through.  I researched and bought door sweeps, to go on these doors, which J installed.  It's made a pretty significant difference.  When I checked one day, it was 50 degrees behind the doors, and 60 just in front of the sweep.

It looks like we've got some more frigid temps coming this week, as in much of the country.  We're to get nights in the low teens, though I've heard parts of the country are getting sub-zero temps.  Brrrr.  This time of year, I'm always looking for chores that create warmth.  Last week, I caught up on the ironing.  I'm thinking this week would be a good time to restock beans, so I'll be canning some up, after I review what we're out of or low on.  One cold day, soup was made, using our butternut squash, onions, garlic, broth and gifted shishito peppers.  Another day, our sweet potatoes, broth, onions and peas were used in a curry dish.  I met dear friends for dinner and a concert (Mon Rovia, which was excellent).  I was gifted with this lovely art, created by an Asheville artist.  Interestingly, I had read about her shortly after the hurricane, as someone who had bought one of the bird-painted leaves was looking to purchase more, to support her.  I will cherish it, and figure out just the right spot for it.  

Another bin of shreds was emptied into the chicken coop, which feels cozier with each addition.  A six gallon bucket is full of inoculated bio-char, and I've started refilling the ash can with fresh bio-char.  A batch of golden paste was made for the pups.  One evening, I dropped J off at the neighbors, so he could drive this skidder back to the shop to work on.  I was thinking the great-nephews and nieces would probably think that was pretty cool.  We've continued making good progress on the skoolie.  Much of it has been things like wiring, lights, and door and cabinet closures.  Nothing very photogenic, but we're finishing up a project, which I plan to post about this week.   Stay warm, friends.