Ash Can Potatoes

Ash can potatoes.

We've been staying warm by the fire,

trying to keep down the heating bills by using our wood burner.

 Every so often my husband empties out the ashes 

into a trash container used specifically for this purpose.

We then set the container on the concrete courtyard 

until we need to empty out the ashes again.

You'll see there are still some very hot coals in here too.

It was nearing lunch time so I thought why not take advantage

of these coals to cook our potatoes 

rather than preheating the oven for 10 minutes or so

plus bake time for the taters.

I washed the potatoes and double wrapped them in foil.

Set them in the can and covered them with some of the coals.

Then I  put the lid on the container and pulled up the handle.

 I turned them after a half hour, making sure to stir the coals.

When I tested them, they were done.

We ended up with plenty of potatoes for lunch,

tender and hot enough to melt some delicious butter.  

I avoided using the oven and it was little to no work at all.

Good eats!

Dulcimer

 Speaking with my farmgirl friends reminded me that I'm

supposed to be practicing the old ways, 

even in winter when there isn't much

gardening or canning to do.

So what did people do in the winter months

besides constantly trying to keep warm and survive?

Spinning, mending, needlework and also music.

That brings me to my dulcimer, something that I haven't picked up in forever!

So don't expect much!

It's an instrument that anyone can learn to play,

at least enough to plunk around and make a tune or two,

even if it is not perfect. 

You can become very experienced at it 

learning how to finger pick and play in groups.

It's probably not completely in tune

and I surely am out of practice; however, 

for me, it's just fun.

Amaryllis

My amaryllis bloomed!

Actually, it's my Mom's flower that she left here

Christmas 2012 since it hadn't bloomed in time.

She spends Christmas here so it made sense to leave it here

for her next visit.

I had cut off the stalk and stored it downstairs in the basement.  

When I checked on it this year, it had started to grow.

  Then up to the kitchen window it went.

Unfortunately it didn't opened in time this year either.

I will need to adjust how soon I prepare it for blooming.

The stalk grew and grew with a little bud starting on one side.

It slowly began to create the flower head and separate.

Making progress.

Looking good.

Oh my, look at this.

One of the four sides is all the way open.

What a great bloom!

It's a pretty amazing flower.

Another side bloom is starting.

I don't know if it will open this year but I 

understand, like any bulb, they begin to multiply.

Maybe this is the baby stalk.

 Here is a link to caring for your amaryllis bulb.

 By the sound of it, it's likes that we keep it cool indoors.

It's sitting where it gets nice diffused light through the blinds.

The instructions says I should move it over to a sunny location soon

to encourage leaf growth. I can keep it blooming until August.

Once the flowers have faded I'll cut the stalk down, 

making sure to not injure the leaves or stalks,

and store it in the basement once again

until next year so it can start growing all over again.

 What a great flower!

What a Deal!

I love those after Christmas deals!

I stopped at a small, higher end home decor store this week where they 

had a sale on all Christmas merchandise and couldn't believe

the bargain on these pretty glass plates.

I don't think these limit us to Christmas at all.

The larger one started out at $20

(really, I checked on line too)

and was marked down to $ 2.00.

I picked up two of them.

They also had a smaller 6 x 6 version for $2 that was originally $15.

 How could I pass this up?

 Around here I could use them during any season.

Their website has images of coordinating items

in addition to many other designs.

  I also picked up a couple of ornaments for $0.50

some of which were up to $ 6-7 each originally.

I also purchased items for fifty cents each that

had been $17 and $18 each that I may use as gifts next year

for co-workers.  Down to Fifty Cents!

Can't beat a deal like that!

Michel Design Works

Three French Hens

Now the Flooding?

It stopped snowing !!!

We're not out of the woods yet-  

after 12 inches of snow over a couple of days

the temperatures are soaring to almost 50 today

with heavy rains which leads to -- The Melt.

They are already warning of street flooding in town,

especially as the plows have pushed the snow against

storm drains which are now completely blocked.

Let's see what our creeks do.

This is the view over the ridge.

It's pretty when it snows but still, 

sunny and 75 is better!

I wasn't the only one that ventured out.

The street, which is still snow packed, had a lone

set of people tracks.  Must have been a pretty dedicated

walker because they disappeared up the street

way up the street.

These animal tracks are in the yard and based on the 

claw marks, I think they are from the cats.

They should be pretty happy if the rains wash away the snow.

I'll be happy to get the deck clear, I've had to put on boots

to get to the feeders and the snow is deeper than my boots!

Enough Already, Old Man Winter!

Enough already, Old Man Winter!

I can't believe I'm saying this; however,

I want to get back to the office!

Really.

Just when I thought we were back on track, more snow today. 

Hardly any but on top of our 10 inches plus almost record breaking lows

 (down to negative 20 degrees F),

just when the major roads cleared,

this dusting is turning slick immediately

and freezing rain on the way this afternoon!

Our offices actually closed on Monday,

almost unheard of, but  those of us with laptops

 continue to work from home- part of our-business continuity plan.

I was ready to go in on Tuesday but with negative temperatures 

my Jeep, which is 15 yrs old and has 250k miles, wouldn't warm up.

Since I'm an hour (on a good day) from work, I would either frost up

or the car may stall in the middle of nowhere.

I was going to work from home, but that didn't pan out.

There was a power outage.

 We lost power for only a bit but our

internet provider (and several towns) lost power for a day.

They had to declare an emergency to bring in heavy 

equipment to clear enough snow to make repairs.

It's amazing how dependent we are on the internet.

I couldn't log on and change my out of office status from home 

since we had no internet.  I could only change my voice mail. 

I did call the people I normally work with but others did not 

receive a reply to their emails to me. 

Had anyone called, they would have heard my voice message.

I made it into the office yesterday and it was SO NICE

to have my desk, my large monitor, my copier and scanner.

Boy, what a day catching up too.

Now, I'm back working from home today.

If we get any ice on our still snow packed back roads,

they will turn into a skating rink.

They are reporting accidents all over the area,

especially calling out the one where I would have to drive.

In the meantime, we're making sure everyone has full bellies.

The pileated woodpeckers (male and female) 

are enjoying the suet, birds are eating both seed and

left over cat food on the porch.  Tom is throwing out food

for Jake, the wild turkey, and scraps are tossed over the 

deck for the opossum and raccoon.

There was a coyote running across the deer trail out back,

stopping to take a smell at our place! Then it continued on

thankfully!

We're supposed to get real rain tomorrow with higher temperatures

so hopefully it will wash away some of these snow piles.

Our school districts have been closed

(which means parents are home too!)

water main breaks everywhere,  pipes in homes are bursting,

 and power outages. 

I can't wait for Spring!!

Wickedly Red Quilt Update

Scary movies, well. . .  scare me. 

So I don't watch them anymore.

Salem's Lot was a Stephen King novel made into a TV movie in the late 70s

 about a town where people are turning into vampires.

This is the scariest Nosferatu looking vampire you'll see.  

When my daughter was young she literally jumped off the 

floor and into my lap when it appeared. And she was not standing,

it was from a full cross legged sitting position!

So to carry on the Usher tradition of scaring the pants off our kids,

my husband agreed to let Taylor watch it after the holidays.

As soon as I picked her up yesterday she reminded me

it was after the holidays.

They enjoyed popcorn and movie,

there was some screaming - not Pops,  it was Taylor's screams.

I; however, had my fill of Salem's Lot and retired to the girl cave 

for a little sewing.  

I'm still working on the Wickedly Red quilt.

I found a pretty red for the border, actually I would have loved

this for the backing but didn't have enough.  I do still have

enough for a pillow or other project.

It's a 12 fat quarter pattern that ends up being scrappy.

I attached the borders and found some nice red with 

white polka dot fabric for the backing.

I have the batting so now all I need to do is re-piece the backing

to fit and tape it down to the floor while I roll out the batting.

I'll iron the top and spray base everything, plus put some pins

here and there for an extra precaution.  

I am not certain how I want to quilt it but being that it is 

so scrappy I may try the free motion again practicing various

designs. I guess I'll have plenty of time with the foot of snow that

is due here by Sunday night, accompanied by negative 30 degree wind chills!

If we're not plowing or shoveling 

off the deck, I can spend some quilt time.

I just hope the power stays on!

Highway Shut Down

After a long, semi-sleepless night,

after the stress and panic,

I ended up working from home on my first

day back from vacation!

This photo from KMOV news.

We had very little snow afterall; however,

it was slick and caused traffic problems all over.

We live in a subdivision made up of several wooded lots.

The road maintenance is up to us, four wheelers and tractors.

Our place is on the top of the ridge.

While there was only an inch or two of snow by us,

more depending on what area you were in, 

 it didn't stop until 6 AM so road crews in town 

were still working.  After giving it a lot of thought,

and knowing it was my first day back at work since Dec 19 ,

I made the decision to drive in, taking the Jeep instead 

of my car.  I went down our hill in 4-low, inching without

braking which seemed to take hours but more like five minutes.

The small county road we live off was nearly pristine.

The blanket of snow was interrupted by only one set of 

tire tracks and several areas of animal tracks.

I made it to the next county road which was in a similar condition.

By the time I reached the larger road I heard that the

highway had been shut down.  

I was still 20 miles from the highway and with these road conditions

I didn't have any alternatives, being our back roads are

hilly, curvy and mostly without shoulders should you start to slide.

As it turned out, a tractor trailer jackknifed and the highway 

was expected to be closed for a couple of hours still. 

This area is still 30 minutes or so away from my office

in good weather, much longer in bad.

The backup was five miles long!

I turned around and made my way back home, 

logged into work and sent e-mails saying I was working from home.

Thankfully, I changed departments and this is an option.

 Today there are concerns of refreezing but so far 

I have not heard of any problems reported on the news

so off I will go.  We're getting up to six inches again

Saturday night into Sunday.  We'll have Taylor with us

   and I'm sure she will want to sled. 

I'll start panicking again Sunday night.

I hate snow.

I hate driving in snow, especially an hour to work!

To all of you receiving even worse weather, be safe!

Keep blankets, extra clothing, something to eat and drink

in your car.  I also have a sleeping bag in the Jeep,

you never know how long you will be stuck.

Happy New Year.