kitchen and yellow bowl

Thursdays are not my own

I run errands with my neighbor more for company than need, although when we first moved here, it was the only time i got out of the house. I am never in charge of where we go, and it can be as banal as groceries and shopping or strange as visits to her old family home to dig roses, the cemetery, and the paper mill where her husband works.

Stingy

All up and down the east coast, everyone is getting snow. Here in Maine, we have had a mild winter without a whole lot of the white stuff. The last two years, however, were epic. I leave you with pictures of the first day of spring 2008.

Root Cellar

View of the backyard from the porch circa 2008

Someday, we will have a root cellar. there is talk of renting a backhoe this summer to dig a foundation for The Bedroom Wing and the root cellar would go beneath The Wing. A secret trap door in the floor to another door in the ground. We agreed on an air gap between The Bedroom Wing floor and the root cellar. My Guy wants it for insulation purposes and i want the gap to prevent the funk of stored cabbages and onions seeping into our house and clothes and lives.

That's Miss FAIRY PRINCESS Critterpants to you!

Miss Critterpants picked out her dress again. i have mixed feelings about the whole princess thing, but who can argue with a pretty dress?

Sunday Tradition

We go to a diner in town on Sundays. it looks like a vintage diner with zinc edged counters and red vinyl seats, but it is actually a set built in 2003 for the HBO movie "Empire Falls"

Miss Critterpants has her favorite meal of hot dog and fries with a tall glass of milk. It is a weekly indulgence. Next week i hope to try a slice of pie, or maybe a doughnut. Maine has an obsession with homemade doughnuts. Our very generous neighbor will bring over dozens of doughnuts still warm from being fried in lard. oh they are good. Robert Kimber sings the praised of homemade donuts in his collection of essays "Upcountry"

"They are a touch of sweetness on a sour day, a bit of fat when times are lean."

i think it would be a good idea to have a plate homemade doughnuts in our kitchen next to the coffee pot and the tea. at all times.

what to eat in February

The Farmer's Market here stays open all year round, for which i am very very grateful. It is our source for raw organic milk, eggs, squash and delicious molasses cookies. the winter market is heavy on the animal products, but we are a meat-eating family and i prefer to buy it from the people who have raised and cared for the animals.

today's haul is a gallon of milk (in two half gallon glass jugs), a dozen eggs, a very hefty roaster chicken, goat meat for a stew and a half-dozen molasses cookies . those barely make it home.

Fleur du Mal

she picked out the dress herself. love that girl of mine!

Mittens

i made a hat and scarf set for my Mother-In-Law for her birthday in January. there was a lot of leftover yarn and mittens seemed to be a logical step.

most of my knitting is done in two local libraries. they are both beautiful old buildings, and host weekly knitting sessions. i couldn't resist snapping a few pictures with the stained glass windows.

planning

This winter i have spent a great deal of time planning the vegetable garden. it's based on lots of books, but "Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew and "Four-Season Harvest" by Eliot Coleman have been really big influences.

i have already placed my ridiculous seed order with Fedco. it's a wide variety of seeds to see what we like and what really grows well here. and honestly, i ordered what i call "stupid-proof" veggies. is that asking for a self-fulfilling prophecy or what? lots of squash, radishes and beans and carrots and...

there will be a comprehensive list once the order arrives. i don't have it in me this morning.