Friday bullets - November 17, 2021

It feels as though it has been a busy week. This is probably because I have talked on the phone more this week than I did the entire previous month. Inevitably the "just a brief 15 minute interview" becomes at least an hour. I won't miss this.
  • I drove to Iowa today to meet my brother and sister-in-law to do our annual Great Beef Move. They raise grass fed cattle and I always get a side a beef. It always feels just a little illicit moving huge coolers of beef between vehicles at the edge of a rest stop. 
  • My freezer is very, very full. It was a close thing as to whether or not I was going to get it all to fit. It's a good thing that Thanksgiving is coming up and I needed to thaw the turkeys. 

This is a full side of beef and very nearly a full side of pork crammed into this freezer. There are a few other things as well... sixteen quarts of applesauce, frozen leftovers, vegetables, some chicken. The only thing I ended up needing to move was two packages of pita bread which I found room for in another freezer. We are set for the year. Of course, for a few months we will only be able to use the items I can actually get out.
  • I was able to fill the freezer without huge chunks of frozen meat falling from the top shelf onto my head. Yes, this has actually happened before. Yes, this hurts. A lot.
  • L. has been busily making clay figures to sell at the upcoming craft fair at our co-op. She has set-up a whole workspace in the living room.
  • The horses are so muddy. With this whole freeze at night, thaw during the day, the ground stays pretty wet so trying to clean them will not do much good.
  • Tonight while J. and I were making dinner, we had an Ella Fitzgerald CD playing. At one point, R., who was sitting in the kitchen with us, started complaining that the elephants were too loud. I was baffled, but J. figured out that she was referring to the trumpets on the CD. They were very talented elephants.
  • It is beginning to be the time of year when I wear a ridiculous number of layers in an attempt to stay warm. K. is still wearing shorts, tank tops, and slides. 
  • Many children (L. in particular) are counting down until they can official listen to and sing Christmas carols with abandon. In our house this occurs after we have watched A Child's Christmas in Wales together after Thanksgiving dinner. L. has mentioned how much she wants to listen to Christmas music almost as much as she has mentioned that she really wants a puppy. It's a lot, trust me.
  • Please teach your children not to make racist statements about an entire nationality based on erroneous assumptions about what the people in that country eat. Yes, even if you do not believe they are racist and are really no big deal. That will save me from having to be the mom who will educate your children about the egregiousness of their statement, because I will. Everyone will just make everyone happier if I don't have to go there.
  • Another article about the documentary has been published, this time in The Evanston Roundtable.
  • Because I was happily listening to bluegrass music as I drove home from Iowa this afternoon, I missed the announcement of the verdict in the Rittenhouse case. I have no words. I am, sadly, not surprised at all, but my heart is so heavy and grieving that I can't formulate any sort of coherent thought. One color of skin should not get preferential treatment over another. And I hate guns. 
And on that sobering note, I'll end here. We'll be spending the weekend madly getting ready for the holiday and making our house look as though we don't live in slovenly chaos the majority of the time. 

Comments

Anonymous said…
Come live in Australia. We have very few guns here.
11/20/2021 4:29 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Making bias tape... otherwise known as the Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway

Image
( Sorry, the contest is now closed .... though you're welcome to leave a comment if you like.) It's Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway time again.  I love bias tape.  It is so useful and so easy to use... finishing edges ... finishing seams ...  And while the pre-packaged stuff has it's place and I use it often, I really like to have patterned bias tape as well.  Enter one of my favorite little tools: the bias tape maker.  This one make 3/4 inch bias tape and I will be giving one away at the end of this post.  But first, I thought some of you might like to see what it does if you've never used one before. I don't have a rotary cutter, nice cutting mats, or even a proper cutting table (I cut-out things on my floor), so if I can do this, so can you.  Here is my admittedly quirky method. Step 1:  Lay out the fabric and fold a corner over to find the bias.  The woven threads should be at right angles to the part you turned up. Step 2:  Using a ruler and some sort of mark
Read more

Apple picking in the rain

Image
Today was our planned day to go and pick apples.  It was raining off and on, but when it comes to fruit, we don't let a little water get in our way so off we went.  We met our friends and enjoyed their company and picked a lot of apples (3 1/2 bushels).  We also ate quite a few. G.  L. K.  (with an apple nearly as big as his head) P8, TM and L. Now, I don't know about you, but even picking 7 bags of apples does not take us very long.  It's a shame to drive so far only to turn around and go home, so we packed lunches, headed to a park, and enjoyed the now sunny weather. TM and P8 A good day all around.  Of course now I have to do something with all these apples...
Read more

Kenzie on the beach

Image
We have made it back home. I am feeling a little more balanced, but it was hard saying goodbye to a house we've created such meaningful memories in for the past 34 years. I'll write more about both later.  In the meantime enjoy pictures of Kenzie living his best life as a beach dog.  Note the ears blowing in the wind (Photo credit TM) (Photo credit for the rest MC)
Read more