It Was a

Gloomy, rainy day.

Which became

"a dark and stormy night".

(Peanuts)

But hey!

At least it isn't doing this yet!

(here that is)

To quote a redhead with a really big voice

maybe

"The sun will come out tomorrow...."

Advantages to City Life

1.  It is possible to mow most of my lawn in the dark,
     because the street lights provide plenty of illumination.
     (Although the mower runs awfully rich on cold evenings.)


2.  There are fewer deer to eat my garden.


3.  Good Neighbors.

4.  Library, restaurants, and other fun stuff is < 20 minute drive away.

Somebody Made a Mistake

This Afternoon Scattered Showers Hi 106 °F

Tonight Slight Chc Showers Lo 31 °F

Saturday Sunny Hi 48 °F

Saturday Night Increasing Clouds Lo 34 °F

I seriously doubt that it will get up

to 106 deg. F this afternoon.


It maybe hit the mid 50's today.


Gotta love those computer models.

Is living at my job a good thing or a bad thing?

Spent a lot of time this week wearing this and ear muffs.

First came the sanding.

Then came more staining.

Then came a couple of days doing electrical work

while waiting for the weather to become clear and warm enough

to open the windows again.

It started as an electrical permit to rewire the downstairs

kitchen and bathroom.  Unfortunately, an electrician who has either died of old age by now or is too old to punish (because I would break him like a twig) was foolish enough to put the downstairs kitchen, bathroom, and the bedroom on one 15 amp circuit.  The previous owners "remedied" the blunder by adding more circuits in the kitchen and bathroom and avoiding plugging anything into the original circuit, lest they be left in the dark when the breaker blew.

After lots of work running a new dedicated circuit

to a permanently accessible junction box,

the downstairs bedroom finally has electricity again.

(Note: those new arc fault circuit breakers are a pain!)

Hopefully the city inspector approves,

because I don't want to have to rip open the bedroom walls

just to replace perfectly functional (but not new) wiring.

Then came slightly warmer and sunny weather.

So back to the refinishing.

Today was the varnishing stage.

Looks great when it is still wet.

Now my house stinks again.

And the big question is

"Is the cat stoned on varnish fumes, or is she just lazy?"

Putsy Food

Most of my cooking is in bulk,

because hubby eats in bulk

(even if it never shows on his wastline).

Sometimes though, on a cold rainy afternoon when hubby has a day off work, it is nice to make something special for a leisurely lunch.

Today it was Homemade Pot Stickers!

The recipe is tweaked from the Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines cookbook, Pork Shu-Mei filling and Chinese Boiled Dumplings dough.

Filling:  mix well & set aside covered in fridge

1 pound lean ground pork (Tender ground venison also works well!)

2 Tbs. Soy Sauce

2 Tbs. Chinese rice wine (the cheap salty stuff)

   (If you use a good wine, also add 1 tsp salt to recipe.)

1 Tbs. freshly grated or finely chopped ginger

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. white pepper

a little black pepper

a few sprinkles of kimchee pepper flakes

pinch of sugar

1 Tbs. chopped onion - green or white (whatever is on hand)

1 egg white

1 Tbs. corn starch

3-4 cloves garlic, run through a press or finely chopped

3-5 napa cabbage leaves, chopped very fine and squeezed dry

     in paper toweling

Dough:

2 1/2 cups unsifted all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup boiling water

1 Tbs. olive oil

Mix the flour and salt.  Add the boiling water and stir with chopsticks.  Add the olive oil, mix and knead in the mixing bowl, then on the counter until well incorporated.  Let dough rest in sealed container for 20 minutes before rolling.  Dough can also rest overnight in the refrigerator with no ill effects.  If planning to assemble the dumplings the next day, leave the napa cabbage out of the filling until just before stuffing.

For best results, roll dough balls on a marble cutting board or 12"x12" marble floor tile (well washed).  If you buy yours at Home Depot like I did, make sure they don't charge you for an entire case.  A heaping teaspoon sized dough ball when rolled thin will hold approx. 1 heaping Tbs. of filling.  Stuff the shell, seal edges, repeat.... and repeat....

Preheat pan to medium high, add some canola oil and place dumplings in pan with enough space around them that you can persuade them to come loose later without mangling other dumplings in the process.  Allow the bottoms to start browning, then pour approx. 2-4 Tbs. of water or chicken stock into the pan and cover immediately.  You may need to add a little more liquid later to ensure that the filling is fully steamed/cooked.  When the liquid has boiled away, remove the dumplings from the pan before they burn.  They will be crispy on the bottom and perfectly steamed on top.  To make the next panful, scrape away remaining dough bits and repeat the process starting with more oil.  If too much stuff is stuck to the pan, deglaze it with water, dump out the stuff, allow it to dry and start again.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.  I usually mix equal parts of Hoisin sauce, Soy Sauce, and rice wine.

The traditional dipping sauce if I remember correctly is a bit of Soy Sauce, Rice Wine, a pinch of sugar, and freshly grated ginger.

Enjoy!

Time Lapses

The Beginning

The End

To Do List

Install a handrail on mom's basement stairwell.
     Done
Screw down loose stair treads on mom's basement stairwell
     Done


Eat dinner
Relax

Stuffed Biscuit

When there is no bread in the house

and the patience to make some is lacking,

make a stuffed biscuit instead.

Filling of choice for this one was

2 thin slices 5 year aged cheddar - broken up

a few extra thin slices of summer sausage

3 or 4 slices of part skim mozzarella

1 large yellow tomato sliced thin

1 tsp. oregano crumbled fine

salt to taste

Baked at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes

Serve with a bowl of hot, home-made tomato soup

and some fresh apple sauce.

Gone to Seed

Our "Meat" Gun

This is a post from Mr. S.  Any typing errors are the fault of Mrs. S. however, because Mr. S. types by the hunt & peck method, which although effective, is very time consuming.  Since you want to be able to read this post before you retire, she typed it.

(Scope: Nikon Buckmaster 3x9-50mm)

"This is the meat gun.  I bought it from a coworker about 8 years ago.  It is sporterized, but in the tradition of Swedish Mausers, it shoots like a dream!  It is a model 1896 (production date 1906), the "old model" with the single stage trigger, but apart from that, the gun is great!  My deer hunting round is a 120 grain Barnes Triple X.  Last year, after about a six year span of not seeing any deer during hunting season, I had the chance at another deer.  The bullet made a small hole on the way in, and cut a much bigger one on the way out.  In the six year span w/o a deer I saw plenty in town, standing next to roads, standing by the no hunting signs, etc - but none in the hunting area.  It was a big relief to get venison for the freezer again!

The 120 grain Barnes Triple X was not my first choice for bullets.  There was some trial and error involved.  The "trouble" with a genuine Swedish Mauser is the amount of twist in the barrel, 1 turn for every 7 1/2 inches (most rifles are about 1 in 10).  I discovered that copper jacketed lead bullets "break up" at high velocity (powder charge of 46 grains reloader 22).  Barnes X bullets do not seem to "break up" no matter what you do to them.  (No this is not a paid advertisement.)

The 160 grain (Hornady) round nose was my first choice.  I did take one deer with it, but the bullet came apart.  (Bambi had his revenge; Mrs. S. chuckled every time I bit into a steak and found shards.  Must be fate, she never found any in her dinner.)  I tested the bullet in water jugs and the results were interesting.  The copper jacket separated from the core, see picture above.  (Also had similar results of disintegration with 140 grain Speer copper jacketed lead bullets.)

The first Barnes bullets I bought were 140 grain XLC.  In order to fit them in the magazine and chamber, they had to be seated too deeply, and caused accuracy issues.  I could never get better than a 3" group at 100 yards.  (Spent bullet was fired into two one quart containers full of water followed by blocks of wet wood stacked to a depth of 2'.  The first foot of blocks became kindling.)

The 120 grain Triple X (triple shock) bullets are Just Right!  The spent bullet (117 grains remaining) shown was recovered from the gravel backstop at 100 yards.  Wet gravel is hard on bullets, but it held together!  It also makes very nice groups, approx. 1" at 100 yards, and even better, it doesn't leave lots of shards behind in your dinner.  The moral of this story is "always bring enough bullet, but bigger isn't necessarily better".

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Now that I have your attention....

Have I been boring you with all the DIY stuff?

So sorry - that's my life.

One window down, approximately 11 more to go.

I probably won't get them all done before winter hits.

Sorry, gun bloggers, hubby isn't quite done writing up his post yet,

so the cookie recipe will have to keep you occupied until tomorrow.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Ingredients:

1 Cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 Cup butter (or Smart Balance Light)

     (Smart Balance light works OK in this recipe,

      but if you cannot manage to get the cookies eaten within 2 days,

      freeze half of the baked cookies and save them for later.)

3/4 Cup white sugar

3/4 Cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1-2 tsp. vanilla

3 Cups oatmeal (quick or old fashioned-doesn't really matter)

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

   (or Ghiradelli double chocolate bittersweet chips)

1 Cup nuts (optional)

1. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, & cinnamon - set aside

2. Cream butter and sugars, add eggs 1 at a time, add vanilla

3. Add dry mixture, blend.

4. Add oatmeal, blend

5. Add chips and nuts, blend

Spoon onto cookie sheets and bake at 350 deg. F for 10-14 minutes each sheet (5-7 minutes on middle-bottom oven shelf then 5-7 minutes on the top oven shelf).  Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly before loosening cookies on pan.

Enjoy!  They're full of fiber, so don't eat too many at once.

Took some to a summer job once; some of the guys in the shop ate more than 9 each; they were very "regular" the next day.

Varnishing and Gardening

Coat #2 of varnish applied this afternoon.
That clinches it; I really need a haircut!
I can just hear the hairdresser now-
"What's this stuff stuck to your hair at the ends?"
Me, "Oh, that's semi-gloss spar varnish;
my ponytail got into the DIY projects a bit too much."

Now for enjoying the fresh air and sunshine

doing some yard and garden work here and at mom's place.

It is a gorgeous day today!

A bunch of monarchs seem to be making pit stops in my garden on their way south for the winter.

Gotta fly for now.

Sanding and Staining

Today's activities have not been terribly exciting, but they are necessary.  Even this far north the sun's UV rays do actually cause some damage over time; it just takes a lot longer than down south.  The downstairs windowsills, trim, and double-hung windows need a bit of "refreshing" wherever they have been kissed by the sun.  Otherwise the tape from the window insulator kits could peel off some wood when removed next spring.  Gee, I might as well hold off on the dusting until the sanding is all done.  Great - any excuse is a good one to get out of dusting for just a little longer!


Thankfully, the wind is just right for venting fumes at the moment.  With an old house, touch-ups have to be oil based just like what was originally used, because the water based stuff doesn't darken with age like oil based finishes.  Oh the stink!  It is possible to crack a window open on the west side of the house to catch a little bit of the fresh gale that is blowing outside.  Then the fresh air can travel through the living room, be heated by the pellet stove, go to the bedroom, then through the window to the porch, and exit via a south window on the porch.  That should keep the temperature on the porch from dropping below 50 tonight, so that the stain dries and the varnish can be applied tomorrow.  There are some advantages to having a drafty, old house; it is really easy to exchange the air and keep from getting gassed in a bad way.  Don't tell the energy police that I am wasting fuel and heating a bit of the great outdoors on purpose!


Getting a good match to the old stain can be a bit tricky- mix 5 parts red mahogany stain, 2 parts pecan stain, 1 part black walnut stain, then cross your fingers and pray it blends well with the areas that have not been sanded down to bare wood.  Might post pictures if it comes out looking halfway decent.


As far as I can tell, the trim work in this place is old southern yellow pine.  We had to replace the shoe moldings when we ripped out the gold shag carpeting in the living room and dining room downstairs.  The closest matching wood in grain texture that we could find was birch, but we had to bump up the red and walnut stains more to compensate for the green hue and lack of age darkening.


Maybe hubby will write up a reloading post for me to type in tomorrow.

Quiz

Name the Calibers.

Since North's answer was a bit sassy,

here's hubby's answer left to right.

.22 standard velocity, 40 grain bullet

30-30, 150 grain bullet

6.5x55 120 grain Barnes Triple Shock

6.5x55, 160 grain Hornady

30-06, 150 grain ball

.375 H&H, 300 grain Hornady Solid

(Just in case an angry African elephant escapes

from the circus and goes charging down Main Street,

 or Hubby wins a safari trip to Africa)

Caramel!

It is apple season.

Although hubby's diet is restricted in how much saturated fat

he can eat, there still may be some of you out there

who can still enjoy real caramel.

So, instead of getting your teeth stuck in a lousy caramel apple,

make your own caramel for soft chewy caramel apples and keep your teeth in your mouth.

Recipe and pictures are below.

Recipe is for wrapped caramels,

but you could just as easily dip tart apples in the finished caramel.

(Finished variety shown is chocolate caramels with walnuts.)

Utensils:

6 quart (minimum) heavy saucepan

     (a cast iron Dutch oven works well)

1 large wooden spoon

     (metal tends to be a heat sink which can result in burned fingers,

      burned caramel, and/or possible sugar recrystalization)

1 silicone spatula-the kind rated to approx. 500 deg. F

     (for removing caramel from cooking pan at the end)

1 bowl of ice water

Candy thermometer (optional)

9" x 13" pyrex baking dish or assorted cast iron frying pans of similar surface area

Wax paper

Straight edge razor

Cutting board free of strong smells - onions, garlic, fish, etc.

Sharp paring knife for removing strips of caramel from pan.

Meat cleaver or chef's knife for cutting caramel strips to size.

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups white corn syrup

2 cups cream (1 cup reserved)

1 cup butter (2 sticks-DO NOT SUBSTITUTE MARGARINE!)

2 teaspoons vanilla

Optional Ingredients:

3 or 4 squares unsweetened chocolate - chopped

1 1/2 cups English Walnuts

Instructions:

If cooking with cast iron pans, boil water in them for a while to remove any smell of what was cooked in them previously; add some baking soda if necessary.

Put the sugar, syrup, 1 cup of cream, and the butter in the clean, dried saucepan.  Grease the cooling pans with the paper wrappers from the butter.  Stir and cook mixture over medium low heat until sugar is dissolved.

Turn up the heat to medium or high, and continue stirring.  When the mixture reaches a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, gradually add the remaining cup of cream.  Do not allow the mixture to stop boiling while the cream is being added.  Note: if using an electric stove, turn the heat down to a lower setting before adding the last of the cream.  The burner will need to cool down a little to avoid having the pan boil over.  If using a gas stove, reduce heat after the remaining cream has been added.  Maintain a steady boil while avoiding the the pan boiling over; stir often - more often with a gas stove to avoid burning mixture.

As water boils off, increase heat gradually to maintain boil.  Eventually it will turn an amber color and look a bit like bubbling lava.

Cook until the thermometer registers 250 degrees F, or drop a little into the bowl of ice water and test by chewing it.  It should be chewy but still melt in your mouth.  When ready, remove pan from heat, add desired optional ingredients, and stir well.  Then add the 2 teaspoons vanilla and stir again.  Pour into prepared cooling pans, and wait approx. 2-3 hours before cutting.  Or if using a cast iron pan, cover it with aluminum foil and set it outside in a snowbank for approx. 15 minutes (if making caramels in winter).  While you are waiting, cut up the wax paper into rectangular pieces using cutting board and razor.  When the caramels have cooled, place a sheet of wax paper on your cutting board, cut strips of caramel from pan, and transfer them to cutting board to cut down to bite size pieces.  Wrap caramels.  Shelf life: 1-2 weeks at room temperature.  Freeze for longer.

Chloe's New Friend

Welcome to the neighborhood Cocoa!

Cocoa is supposed to be a chocolate lab;

guess somewhere his parents have a few blonde roots.

The neighbors up the street finally took the plunge

and bought their little girl a puppy.

There aren't many houses left on the block

that don't have dogs.

Fall Color

A few last eye dazzling blasts of color

before the switch to winter gray.

(Once again - this is NOT mine.)