soup day

Gloomy skies making for more gloomy photographs, sorry.

I keep checking my laptop to see if the screen brightness is turned down.

It is not.

Snow and more snow. The hay cart has taken a holiday and the hay sled is back in action at last. There's more snow, then a lot more rain, in the forecast. I much prefer snow and it's certainly a lot healthier for the goats, but I suppose we must bloom where we are planted, even if we are planted in mud.

Today is a cooking day, and the cupboard/fridge review has revealed extra-coarse bulgur, chicken broth, carrots, spinach: another kettle of soup in my immediate future. Is soup a big part of your daily fare? Having a constant supply of soup has become one of the best things I can do for myself. I've proven repeatedly - and without even trying to prove it with one of my experiments! - that if there is "real food" on hand that's ready to eat, or ready to reheat and eat, I genuinely prefer to eat that instead of reaching for a snack or something sweet. So keeping my little fridge stocked with pyrex containers of things like soup, chili, cooked veg, or pasta, pretty much guarantees healthy eating most of the time. Whereas no matter how many wonderful ingredients may be waiting in the cupboard, when I come in from evening chores there is a near-zero-percent chance that I will start cooking. So making a big batch of something good once or twice weekly and portioning out for the fridge or freezer makes for a healthier diet. Does it sound like I'm trying to make a virtue of laziness? It does to me, but I'm okay with that.

I don't have a picture of soup but here is a cheerful-looking concoction made in the blender a couple of weeks ago, to use up a big jar of beet slices and half a tub of very tart plain yogurt:

Blended with a little water to thin, and a pinch of baking soda to balance the vinegar-y beets. It was a "waste not want not" endeavor, and I just hoped it would be drinkable. Well. It turned out to be incredibly refreshing, and I have been craving it ever since. Is this a known beverage? I'm wondering if it may turn out to be like my watered-down plain yogurt creation which I'd been drinking for decades before learning it is a traditional Turkish beverage called "ayran."

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winter

 We've had snowfall.

 It has lasted more than a day.

Which makes a change, this year.

Looks kind of refreshing, doesn't it?

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pebbles of the day

 

A few Pebbles of the Day borrowed from twitter:

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snowscape adventures

Just a bit of whimsy on a Saturday night.

I hope the click-to-embiggen-in-another-window feature still works.

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First things first: the water is running again.

Thank you all for your good wishes.

It took a while.

And several thousand dollars.

BUT.

You do what you gotta do, right?

And all's well that ends well.

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dry monday

When I turned on the kitchen faucet at 1AM and nothing happened, I said to Moxie and Della, "Well, this is likely to be an interesting day." Such a useful word, isn't it, "interesting"?  So far, I have been waiting over 6 hours for a callback from my usual plumber, and 3 hours for a callback from the plumber who did a small job for me in 2020. (I almost wrote "the plumber who did a small job for me last year," but caught myself.) I have now also left a message with a pump installer/fixer, since a repair or replacement may be what's needed anyway. If so, talking with him may effectively cut to the chase and bypass the plumbers who seem happy to bypass me. The pump man is still on holiday until tomorrow, but you never know - he may be the first to call back.

I can live with inconvenience, and can work around the absence of many not-strictly-necessary things, but good water is critical. Goats need it, chickens need it. Fresh clean water for everyone gets taken care of morning and evening, every day. And because of that, the cats have plenty for at least another day, and the goats are alright until tonight. The hens will be fine for a couple of days. I usually drink water all day long, but fortunately made a jar of Turkish coffee yesterday so I've been sipping that as iced coffee all day. It's possible I will have acquired a fairly fine edge by evening.

Other than the water situation, 2023 is off to a good start here, and I hope the same is true for all of you. Do you have special plans for adventure in the new year? Last night I opened my little box of new art supplies, and here's the first sketch of 2023, based on a video clip. This is one of the Sheldrick WildlifeTrust's orphaned elephant babies, playing in shallow water and having a grand time. The sketch was made with water-soluble graphite pencils - a concept that boggles my mind the tiniest bit. When it comes to art, it seems there's always something new to try. And most of it is inexpensive and very good fun.

Oh dear. It was totally accidental, but I can't seem to get away from the water theme!

Thank you for all the lovely comments about the hap for the second baby. If anyone feels the urge to make one, let me know and we can have a long-distance knit-along! I'm already in the mood to cast on another one, even without a baby waiting in the wings. Maybe an adult-sized blanket this time. It's just a very satisfying knit. Think about it! 

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