Scullery Work

It seems as if I spend a great amount of time in the kitchen area of this old cabin. I sure do wish that there was a real walk-in pantry here where I could access my pots, pans, kettles, roasters, nut choppers, baking pans and dishes, storage containers, and all of the small electric appliances that I use on a regular basis. Wouldn't that be nice? There is EVERYTHING here to cook, bake or roast anything! We have food choppers, slicers, a food mill, bowls, graters, scales, strainers, colanders, BUT most is stored under the L-shaped counter deep in the cupboards. Yes, lots of space there;  hard to access most of it but at least I know what is there and where it is.

Then, it also would be a wonderful thing if baking supplies, canned goods, boxes, bottles, packages, and all other food items could be handy and not scattered here and there in cupboards, on shelves and counters. It's not that I don't know what is there, it is that it is sometimes not organized as I would like and not visually open.

Am I complaining? Yep!  Will it change? Nope! I don't even miss having an electric dishwasher. Had one for over 25 years with large family. The the best of all thing is that there is a huge old porcelain sink with drainboard and I would never have a double small basin variety. Never! How would I wash the large old bowls and kettles?  Nope! The under sink cupboard holds dozens of cleaners and polishes, cutting boards and large jugs of ammonia, bleach, vinegar.

Yes, dozens of utility implements hang on the log walls in the area. How handy is that? There are many taking residence on the vintage towel rack on the wall as well.

Come on over, and I'll show you how to manage my scullery!

By the way, the stovetop burners are covered with common and often used cookware and the interior of the oven is a good storage area for baking sheets and pizza pans!

In the past couple of days I have juiced over a dozen oranges, chopped and bagged two pounds of walnuts, roasted a pork roast for dinner and shredded the remainder for BBQ. As I write there is a 3 lb. beef meatloaf in the oven with wonderful aroma permeating the entire cabin.

No wonder I'm called a "foodie!" Now what to do with these Christmas apples? 

Three Trees Downed Part 2

That's is it for this year.

Good job well done. 

Three Trees Downed 9 5 17

This is a 2 minute slide show that I made after the men went back to their business main location to repair the chipper which developed a leak of some sort. They promised to return as soon as they could to finish cutting down the large tree and finalize the cleanup of the beachfront. 

We will miss those trees but it was absolutely necessary to remove them before Mother Nature did the job. I often have used them as accents in my photographs during all seasons. The doves, crows and other birds including the bald eagle have roosted there on the jutting broken limbs. I do not like change, especially this one. I'll miss those trees.

 Please click on image to see the last view of the 3 trees in March 2017. 

It Has to be Done

1918 Mother age 3

My mother died on November 5, 2005 at age 91. She had broken her femur when it gave out due to severe osteoporosis. It was non-operable so she went from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility to a skilled nursing care facility, never returning to her home. As I was her designated power of attorney and executrix, I had the duty of cleaning out and selling her home, and taking care of the rest after her death. Thank goodness I had her attorney to guide me through it all for several years. It was a very difficult and heart-rending time for me. 

Ten years have passed. The time to destroy the extensive amount of paperwork and cards I have saved all these years has come. Because of a huge multitude of papers that have personal information, our small house shredder has been put to work with the help of the Mister. Since our area has no large shredders available to the general public, but does have a recycling center, we have bit the bullet and started the project. What has personal information is shredded, the rest is put aside for recycling to be taken and dumped at the center. I sort, he shreds. We have just begun. Our living quarters are small to begin with and the storage of it all takes up an immense amount of space that has been needed for other items through the duration. 

Mother was a “saver” and a “keeper” and an “organizer.” I spent all day today going through the greeting cards and there were thousands! I remembered that, in the past, I had sent card fronts to an organization to be re-used, and found the necessary information to do this. If anyone out there wants ever to recycle greeting cards, and help  St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, I highly recommend this organization. Now they are listed on the internet with all of the information necessary.

It’s a good thing I have a quality table top paper cutter, that I have used for a very long time in my personal craft projects. I know I wouldn’t have been able to cut the cards by hand because of the high volume. First I have to read them all, of course!  I have found family pictures and ancestor information that I wasn’t aware of before. I saw and understand that she had hundreds of personal friends through her church, Eastern Star Order and hospital affiliations. She was a cancer survivor for decades. Family and neighbors had always sent cards during the past, even her mailman!  There were Christmas, birthday, Thanksgiving, Easter, Mother’s Day and get well cards. Oh! So many! The reading, sorting and cutting is finished today. According to the rules for reuse, I had to eliminate any that were from American Greetings, Hallmark and Disney. I had to eliminate any that had writing on the inside of the front cover. About half of them had personal written notes there. The fronts on many were especially chosen to be sent to her. There were cats, kittens, birds and flowers. She love them all. Nevertheless, I ended up with a large boxful ready to ship.

We will be working on the remaining three milk crates full of file folders and paperwork for several more weeks, to be sure, before the job is finished. It has been a strong reminder of how much she was respected and loved by many and what a GOOD and EXCEPTIONAL woman she was throughout her entire life to the end. 

Recycle Greeting Cards Link

Cut and Cough

This is what happens when a romp with the old canine boy "Pal," turns into a slash through the Mister's skin. After running under cold water for many minutes to stop the bleed, I patched it up with Neosporin, gauze pads and wrapped until the next day. Against my suggestion, the Mister didn't think it needed stitches and was toughing it out. The next day came and my wraps came off and it looked quite raw and open so......off to the Doctor's Care we went.

This is the professional wrap after doctor visit. 

 No stitches were necessary, but the slash was pulled together with special tape stitches before wrapping. The tape  is supposed to dry and fall off after the wound is healed.

Doctor said to unwrap in the morning and let it dry out to heal properly. OK. DONE!

Supplies for treatments. 

It was a "twofer" trip. Yes, what I thought was just my allergies kicking at me, it seems that I have developed bronchitis after several days. I was also hoping it would go away, but.......I tagged along and decided to be treated.  Came back with antibiotic and nebulizer after 15 minute nebulizer treatment during doctor visit.  Feeling better. Last year at the same time I had the same issue.

If you want to view closer, click on image.