Tackling a Classic...

I often listen to National Public Radio while working at my desk in the afternoons.  Last week there was a discussion about the "literature that stumps us".  People were calling in to talk about the books they just couldn't seem to get through...very often the teacher-assigned tomes that so many high school students are made to dissect with their adolescent knowledge of the world.

The book that immediately came to my mind was John Steinbeck's classic, The Grapes of Wrath, the celebrated novel that defines the devastating era of the Great Depression.  What a fascinating topic for a room full of 16-year-olds in the era of big hair and neon socks! I can still remember sitting at the desk in my bedroom, bent over this book with my chin resting on my hand.  My eyes moved over the words, but when I'd reach the bottom of a page I would realize I couldn't remember ANY of what I had just read!  Every assignment was a struggle, and I really couldn't tell you too much about the story because it just didn't leave an impression on me.  What DID leave an impression was the boy in our class whose parents wouldn't let him read it!!  He was dissecting a less controversial novel, and seemed to be enjoying his book much more than the rest of us were enjoying ours.  I was very jealous...why couldn't MY parents be more concerned with what I was being exposed to!!

After thinking about this for awhile, I decided I did not want to be stumped by Steinbeck!  This must be a great book, or it wouldn't be shoved into the hands of so many unsuspecting teens.  On Wednesday, I walked into the public library with a mission.  I quickly located the shelf filled with heavy Steinbeck volumes.  Surprise, surprise...there were 4 copies of the Grapes of Wrath available, and by the way they kind of stuck to the shelf when I pulled one out I would guess they haven't been checked out in awhile.  I cracked it open last night and began to read.....and read.....and read.....

I am pleased to report that while my teacher may have been misguided in thinking my younger self would appreciate these pages, she really did know a good story when she saw one.  My adult self is thoroughly enjoying rediscovering an American classic.

The Weed from HELL!

This is a picture of Japanese Knotweed...a horribly invasive plant, once sold as an ornamental, that always seems to be planted exactly where one would like to plant something (anything!) else.  A member of the rhubarb family, this thing grows from the ground up to about 8 to 10 feet tall in approximately 2 months....really.

Every spring we begin the "spruce-up-the-yard" season with the removal of the dead stalks from the previous growing season (we left them in place all winter to provide a barrier between us and the scary neighbors).  Today I accomplished just that, snapping or cutting off the stalks at the base, breaking them into workable lengths and hauling them out to the curb for the village to pick up.  Don't worry....these stalks are dead and will not sprout into new, noxious growth at the county compost site.  I can already see the new, bright red   shoots poking up through the soil.  Over the next few weeks These buds will stretch 3 or 4 feet into the strangest, asparagus-looking shoots with very little in the way of leaves.  Then, while I'm out running an errand, these stalks will burst into foliage and stretch the rest of their height, thoroughly hiding the sight of anything on the other side that you don't want to see...so it does have some value.

Getting rid of Knotweed.....is impossible. Or, nearly so.  I have yet to succeed in eliminating it from the property line.  We tried very hard to do so several years ago.  After months of digging and squirting Round-Up into the stalks and on the roots, we discovered that efforts to remove the plant only stimulates it's super-powers and causes it to grow faster...and spread further into the yard.  Feeling sorry for us, a well-meaning neighbor thought he would make things better by running his roto-tiller through the area.  I came running out of the house with arms waving, yelling "STOP!  You don't know what you're doing!!!"  A week later, every one of those chopped-up little pieces sprouted into a new plant...creating a lush carpet of Knotweed. (Have I mentioned that desperate people in Great Britain have gone to jail for throwing this stuff in ditches in the dark of night?)

A year later, the scary neighbors moved in and we gave up on getting rid of this blight on the plant world.  We let it grow up on the property line once again....and after the neighbor kid tried to steal our basketball, I fertilized it.

William Baffin Rose and Maggie

This was one of my very first posts. I've always liked it...so here it is again!

The Cistern!!

In an earlier post, I spoke of the details in our home and how much I enjoy them. I am constantly amazed at how things were done by the first owners. No detail was too small, no short cuts were taken.

Well...we recently discovered a detail from the early history of our house that we didn't know existed! On the Saturday before Easter, my husband went outside to run new wiring out to the garage...and he uncovered a mystery space right along the foundation of the house in the back yard. He came across a couple of bricks as he was working with his shovel, and when he removed them he found a 6-inch hole...an entrance into an empty space that, when lit by a flashlight, we could see was enclosed by four poured concrete walls! More digging revealed that the dimensions of the concrete "room" was about 3 feet by 9 feet, though a wall prevented us from seeing what was beyond the 3 foot square chamber that we were looking into.

A mystery!! We immediately began looking much more closely at our basement walls, and discovered that we have an old cistern in the corner of the cellar, though we've always referred to it as "the coal room". At some point a door was cut into one of the walls and coal was stored there for many years. We still find bits of coal in all the crevices. It is a great storage space! Well, it just so happens that this cistern is on the opposite side of the wall from our concrete box!!

Last weekend, my husband rented a jack hammer and broke open the hole to reveal what was inside. What we have is a three-chamber filtration system for the cistern in the basement. Water was collected from the roof. The gutter pipe entered the first chamber where it would fill up, allowing dirt and debris to sink. From there the water would flow to the next chamber, where more dirt and debris would settle. Then, it would flow into the third chamber...again allowing dirt to fall away until it finally flowed though a pipe into the main cistern where it would be used by the family for cleaning. We also have a hand-pumped well by the back door, so it is unlikely that the family used the cistern for drinking water....I know I wouldn't!! It is a system that is similar to that used today in places where a cistern is necessary.

The open chamber is nearly filled in now. We will seal it off and a planting area will cover it after we install a new patio and seating area back there. And I don't think we'll be digging anymore holes anytime soon....after all, we don't know where the septic tank is!!

Take a look at the following photos:

Here is the hole that was originally discovered. Just imagine how surprised we were when we stuck a flashlight in and found a poured concrete wall extended out away from the house!

This photo was taken looking through the hole in the first chamber to the second chamber. You can see the hole in the second chamber leading into the third one. Pretty neat!!

It's All In The Details...

I just love old houses!! Especially the one we are lucky enough to live in! Our home contains many beautiful features that I enjoy living with everyday, but my favorite detail put in by the original owner is the leaded glass window shown above.

The first time we walked through this house that would one day be ours, the windows in the dining room were covered by curtains. On the day we moved in we were so surprised to find this beautiful feature...and even more surprised when the sun began to dip down in the western sky that evening. As the late-day sun shown through the window, little rainbows reflected onto the walls through the prismatic bevels of the glass diamonds. You can measure the seasons by their height and the time of day they appear.

Details matter! Look around the site for other photos from the house.

Bring Back the Victory Garden!!

My grand-parents planted a Victory Garden in their back yard. During the World Wars the goverment encouraged citizens to grow and preserve their own food...a lesson in self-sufficiency that they passed on to my mother, who spent many days throughout the summer canning the bounty of our huge vegetable garden.

With our economy in the state it is in, I think the Victory Garden should be revived!! Learn to grow your own foods... to create better quality products for your family. Take pride in your ability to be a little more self-sufficient! Gardening can not only help save on your grocery bill, but it can also be very relaxing and fun.

Visit the following website for more information on creating your own Victory Garden.

http://www.revivevictorygarden.org/

I can't wait to buy seeds!!

Christmas has come and gone...another great holiday season is about to join the "remember when" conversations and thoughts that we pull out when feeling nostalgic toward the end of each year.

I think most people would say good riddance to 2008, a year filled with pink slips, financial strain and political in-fighting and loss of "the American Dream". However, I think 2008 has taught us some very important lessons that I hope we will hang onto in 2009 and beyond.

We learned that alternative fuels do not necessarily cost anything or take years to develop... A bicycle or our own two feet will work nicely to pick up a carton of milk at the local grocer's or a few books at the library. 2008 also taught us that turning over a little plot of soil in the yard and dropping in a few seeds can yield us not only cheaper food, but better tasting...not to mention the wide variety available from farmers who only had to drive a few miles, as opposed to that bland head of lettuce that was trucked in from California.

I think we've discovered over the past year that "things" are not what make us who we are. If we live within our means and take care of the people around us, that is a better indicator of our worth than if we live in a half-million dollar, 4000 square-foot home meant to impress, as opposed to a modest home in which we can provide our families with the things they really need. The "keeping-up-with-the-Joneses" culture is no longer in style, thank God!

Most importantly, we have truly come to see our country...often referred to as a melting pot of cultures...as the land of opportunity for all as we elected as our next president a man many of us saw first and foremost as the most qualified, but who also happened to be a black man.

So, amid the setbacks we have moved forward...forward in thoughts and actions. I think we've accomplished a great deal in 2008. I am looking forward to 2009, to a new year of possibilities...but I will take with me the best of the past and try to avoid its mistakes.

Happy New Year!

A White Christmas!!

Winter has arrived!! There is absolutely no doubt about that! Here in Central New York we received around 8 to 10 inches on Friday as a fast-moving storm moved through and wreaked havoc on the area all day. Of course, the husband believes that's the best time to go Christmas shopping...and he was right! The stores and restaurants were pretty empty!

This morning we have awoken to another round of the white stuff. Although it will be much worse north of us today, we already have 4 or 5 inches of new snow on the ground. To add to this, on the backside of the storm the winds will eventually turn into the northwest and send the lake effect snow off of Lake Ontario toward us. Significant accumulations are expected during the day tomorrow.

I wish I didn't have to drive in to work in the morning, but I am very excited to be able to safely predict a White Christmas!!

Four More Days!!

Every year Christmas seems to get a bit more hectic; but I guess that makes the satisfaction of getting it all done on time that much greater.

We got a late start this year with all of our holiday preparations and gift-buying, but with FOUR DAYS to go we are just about ready for the big day!! A few more packages to wrap...a few little things to pick up...pies and cookies and fudge to bake... But that is what makes it so much fun...the rush!! And the morning after, as we eat the left-over Christmas breakfast quiche, we'll wish we could wrap everything up and do it all over again.

But for right now, we can savor the anticipation as we tie the last few ribbons and sprinkle a little more sugar on the last batch of sweets. Everyone smiles a little more and complains a little less, and even the house feels a little cozier.

I love Christmas!!

TRACK SANTA ON CHRISTMAS EVE!!!

http://www.noradsanta.org/

Make sure you're in bed on time!! Track Santa on Christmas Eve as he makes his rounds throughout the world. Don't let him catch you awake!!

Click the Link Above!!

Great Grandma's Christmas Music

The holidays are such a nostalgic time. I've always wished I could have met my great grandmother. My mother had been very close to her, and she talked about her quite a bit when I was growing up.

Great-Grandma was born in England but was sent to an orphanage in Canada when she was very young, along with the rest of the girls in her family. She was adopted by an older couple looking for a boy to help with the farmwork...but they fell in love with her dark curls and bright blue eyes and took her home with them instead. (If this story sounds familiar, I suspect it's because Lucy Maud Montgomery brought to life a similar one with "Anne of Green Gables"!)

Many years later, a young man asked her parents for her hand in marriage and was told that she would not make a good housewife because she had learned to do farmwork and not the usual work of a woman. But, my great grandfather did not care. They married, and after he served in WWI, and their family had grown to include three children, they loaded their belongings onto a wagon and crossed the border into the United States, settling in the North Country...which is where I grew up.

I am proud to own several items that belonged to my Great-grandmother, including one of the trunks that she brought here with her. I also am the current care-taker of her collection of 78rpm records, which I like to think may have traveled underneath the rounded top of that trunk. It is an honor to me to own such a thing...and it is even more incredible to listen to the same sounds, scratches and all, that previous generations of my family listened to...and with the same technology, as I crank up the phonograph!

The video clip above is of "It Came Upon The Midnight Clear", performed by the Victor Oratorio Chorus. It is most likely from about 1915. (Sorry for how dark it is...it looked much better before I uploaded it...)

Merry Christmas!

I Don't Notice Anything...Do You?!

Eat Your Heart Out, Dr. Frankenstein!!

I have created life!! Yes, it's true...and I'm not referring to the people I live with who are affected by a mental illness that incapacitates their ability to change the toilet paper roll (see my blog entry from September 13th below)!!

I have created a sourdough starter that is breathing bubbly texture into my loaves of sourdough bread. This substance that I'm keeping in two jars at the back of my fridge resembles something most of us would frantically dump in the garbage and quickly remove from the house. But in actuality, it is a living, breathing, fascinating little science experiment that I have affectionately named Hector. You can see him proofing in the photo above.

My decision to try my hand at sourdough bread was partly due to the downturn in our economy that has many of us looking to save our pennies. But it also had something to do with my drive to bake and store food away at this time of the year, a primitive behavior that I am certain is present in anyone of the female gender, whether they want to admit it or not.

Bread is about as basic to human society as anything else I can think of. It is a simple food, and you don't need a commercial yeast product to make it. Sourdough is made using the natural yeast/bacteria that exists in the air around us. I will not explain the process here, but highly recommend the following link if you are interesting in trying it for yourself.

http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm

After reading instructions for sourdough starter on several different websites I chose to follow S. John Ross' well written steps as they made the most sense to me. A simple direction for a simple process. Nothing could be easier. Some folks try to complicate it, but people did this in covered wagons on the Oregon Trail. It's really NOT complicated.

I hope you will try it out, and wish you many delicious, inexpensive loaves! And now....I have to go feed Hector!

Mmmmm.....Apple Time!!

Autumn officially arrived this morning at 11:44am, but for me it really began this past weekend with our annual trek to the apple orchard!! We headed to Behling's in Mexico, NY on Saturday morning, and picked 49 pounds of big, juicy Jonamac apples. Quite a few of the area's orchards were damaged a few months ago by hail and high winds...but not this one. The apples absolutely dripped from the branches, and we were early enough that the picking was easy...low to the ground!! A good thing for those of us who are a little challenged in the height department!

For the past several years I've canned several jars of applesauce to put by for the winter. It is delicious and easy...and I really do like to can. I think there is some primitive area of my brain that, beginning with the first cool breezes of fall, drives me to bake and store food...not unlike the many squirrels that keep digging up my tulip bulbs and burying them in other, more convenient spots... though I'd like to think that I'm slightly more evolved.

This year I added Apple Pie Filling to the shelves, canning 7 quarts on Saturday evening.One of the jars didn't seal, so on Sunday...along with making the applesauce...I baked this pie to taste-test the new recipe (note the pie bird!). It is really very good! It received two thumbs up from everyone.

Here's the recipe:

4 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons salt

10 cups water

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 drops yellow food coloring

8 pounds apples

1. In a large pan, mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add salt and water and mix well. Bring to a boil and cook until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and food coloring.

2. Sterilize canning jars, lids and rings by boiling them in a large pot of water.

3. Peel, core, and slice apples. Pack the sliced apples into hot canning jars, leaving a 1/2 inch headspace.

4. Fill jars with hot syrup, and gently remove air bubbles with a knife.

5. Put lids on and process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes.