Freezing rain encases the manor

It was drizzling when I went to bed last Thursday night (February 24), so it was no surprise as daylight rolled around to find my little manor encased in ice. 

My first thought was something along the lines of, "oh fuck I have to go to the office and I can't get out of it today." 

Yes, I do sometimes use THAT word. Get over it.

As daylight crept over the mountain, the world took on a different appearance. The trees began to shine and the woods came to life with new creaks and groans, and the occasional 'thump' as a limb gave way under the extra weight of the ice. 

I had to go to my day job office, but I didn't need to hurry. I decided I would enjoy the morning.

Deuce was ready for his morning stroll, so I bundled up and out we went. We didn't go far - he's very good at making short work of his outside activities when it's wet outside. So what if Labs are water dogs? Deuce knows the difference between wet feet from the creek and the cold, wet ground. 

We made a circuit around the yard and I took a few pictures to share. Not too many because I don't like the cold, wet ground under my feet, either. 

A short while later the sun began to burn through the clouds and everything turned to crystal for a few short heartbeats. Just as rapidly the mist began to rise and it sounded like rain as the ice melted from the trees. 

Such ice storms are infrequent here at the manor. We just don't get the freezing rain that coats the trees very often. I feel blessed to have been witness to the rare display of beauty, and relieved it left so little damage in its wake. 

Country living brings an ever-changing vista to my door. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

A short video I took as the melting began can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQoWa8wfowU

Preparedness

 

What is preparedness?

For most of us, the world took an odd turn in the year 2020. One day we’re going about our day-to-day lives and the next we’re behind closed doors wearing a surgical mask. Was anyone prepared for that change? 

Most of us probably were not prepared, or at least not as prepared as we wished we were. I remember my first trip to the local grocery after the state I live in went on lockdown. The empty shelves were sobering proof we had more than a medical crisis. The stories told to me by my grandparents of living through the Great Depression echoed in my memory. 

I got real serious real fast about preparedness. As the pandemic drags on, as the political climate becomes unstable, as the economy declines, it's more and more obvious just how our daily lives are at risk. 

This series is simply to share what I've done and what I will continue to do to maintain a level of food and resource security. It won't be enough to survive a total collapse, but I believe I can lessen the day-to-day impact of what is coming over the next few years. 

To read more about my journey, please click to go to What is Preparedness?

And no. It's not clickbait. This blog is not monetized. 

The topics in the series are:

What is Preparedness?

Why concern yourself over being prepared?

Take an inventory

Preparedness is not Doomsday prepping

How much does an adequate pantry hold?

Home food preservation - is it safe?

More about jars and lids

Yes, you can afford to build a pantry

The get home go bag

Do I need a dehydrator or even a freeze dryer? 

I hope that sharing my journey to being better prepared will help you in yours.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

Ashes and old loves

 
An old love of mine died last week. The news came as quite a shock, especially as he was five years younger than me. It's been years since we saw each other, but we greeted each other in that chance meeting with affection and parted with a friendly hug. Never in that moment would I have believed that I'd never see him again in this life. Never would I have thought to see two of my old loves die, but now it has happened, the first back in 2009. 

Kevin came to me through my late cousin Phil. My first marriage had recently - formally - ended and Phil knew Kevin through a friend of his. He called me and had me come to his house to meet "a guy you'll like," and Kevin was there helping him paint the outside window frames. 

My cousin was correct. I did like him. The next Monday night, Kevin showed up at the bowling alley "to see Phil" and we spent two hours chatting away. That led to a proper date which led to us becoming a couple. And while we eventually went out separate ways, there was no acrimony between us. We simply needed different things. 

But, oh, did we have fun together! He didn't bowl but he did practice Tae Kwon Do. The guy had a mean spinning back kick and the trophies to prove it. He had worked his way up to a second-degree black belt before we parted and, to my surprise, during our chance meeting he told me he'd given it up. 

He lived along the Potomac River and we walked the C&O Canal towpath, fished, camped, and floated on inner tubes. He was a big movie buff and we probably went to the movies three out of four Saturday nights. 

Even though Kevin hasn't been a part of my daily life for over thirty years, it tugs at my heart to know his light is gone from this realm. He was one of the good guys. 

Rest in peace, Kev.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

Apparently, it's difficult to let go

I learned a new phrase: contract knowledge. It wasn't what I thought, that being someone who has knowledge of contracts. As it was suggested to me, it's someone who retires but agrees her replacement can continue to call her for assistance at an agreed-upon rate.

Let's just say that blind-sided me. What part of RETIRED do you folks not understand? 

As of today, February 6, 2022, I have no more than 57 workdays left at my place of employment. With a few vacation days due me, Friday, May 27, is my very last day. It could even end up being May 20. We shall see. 

This notion that they will be able to call me for help is for THEIR convenience, not mine. I've already put it out that I do not carry my cellphone with me everywhere I go here at The Hideaway. If I'm outside, it's not in a pocket where it could get damaged. If I agree to their proposal, it has to be at MY convenience. 

I'm not hardwired to be one of these people who can't let go when it's time to move on. I've seen a lot of pain caused by people who can't let go and force relationships into a swamp, and I refuse to allow myself into those situations. 

I think a clean break is best, but perhaps I should give them until the end of this calendar year. It has been a good job with an excellent pension. What I won't do is sign paper on the deal. If they won't trust me, there is no deal. 

It feels good to be the one in the "position of power."

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

January cold snap, three jars didn't seal

 We're coming to the end of a most unusual January for us, weather-wise. Our local weather guru maintains a fact-filled website that I frequently consult. According to years worth of data, our average January temps hover at 30F. We won't hit the mark for 2022. It's been cold. Our high today was 22F. It's still much, much, much better than January of 1994 when we saw a record low of -21F. 

Yes, I'm ready for our traditional January thaw, even if it's not arriving until February. 

My project of the day was canning another batch of chicken along with four pints of stew beef chunks. I have a Presto 23-quart canner that will process eighteen pints at once so I planned accordingly. I also FORGOT to get a picture, so I dipped into the files for an old one of Chicken Under Glass, as we refer to it. 

All four pints of beef sealed, as did eleven of the chicken. Three jars did not seal, and those jars had Harvest Gold lids. Was it because of that brand lid? Three other jars with the HG lids sealed just fine. I can't say I've had any trouble with HG lids, so did it have something to do with the cold weather? It's something I'll keep an eye on and track. 

Those three jars were not lost. I let one of them cool and set it in the fridge to chill and I'll make a batch of chicken salad for our lunches this coming week. The other two jars went into filling for baked chicken pies. I made two pies and we had one for dinner. The other is in the freezer for another meal down the road. The remaining filling has been bagged, labeled, and frozen for use over toast or biscuits before winter is over. A failed seal rarely means lost food. Sure, I had to toss today's menu out the window, but not any food. It's all good. 

But I am going to research the temperature thing because you never know. If it possibly can have an effect on the jars sealing, I'll avoid canning when it's this cold. It's just one more thing to learn on this journey. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

Love, love, love lemons!

The spousal unit does not share my love of lemons. I can get away with adding a bit of lemon to different dishes, but there is a dearth of lovely lemon goodies in the freezer.  

No lemon cookies, no lemon cake, no lemon muffins, no lemon curd for scones, no lemon lush for dessert. It's a sad thing. 

But there is hope! I bought a cheap bag of lemons and ran them through the freeze dryer! 

It was a simple exercise. I sliced the lemons on the mandolin, saving the odd end peels for zest. The run took about seventeen hours, and I put the lemons in two quart jars and vacuumed sealed them, one with an oxygen absorber for longer storage, and one without for more immediate use. The odd peels are vacuumed sealed in a pint jar at the moment. Come the weekend, and daylight, I'll run them the chopper to make zest and put that in an even smaller jar to use. 

This coming summer, I'll have lemon slices to add to water along with a slice of ginger and a spring of mint for a very refreshing summer treat. Planning ahead and having those things you frequently use on hand in the panty is the whole point behind all my "prepping." What I didn't know is that it would end up being such fun!

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

Leftover soup? Freeze dried it!

Have you noticed how people love to spout statistics at you like you're to blame for whatever it is they're talking about? Me, too. And this is NOT that. It's about not wasting the grocery budget, not feeding the world on the 20% of food gone bad the average household tosses out each year. 

The food that goes bad in my fridge will not feed the world. It won't feed anyone, especially me because that fuzzy stuff growing on it is a deal-breaker, in my opinion. 

But, I digress...

Several years ago the spousal unit and I pledged to make a concerted and serious effort to plan our meals in such a way that we didn't throw as much food on the compost pile. We eased into it by deliberating cooking more to make enough for two meals and then freezing one. That will always work for us, but there are some things that do not freeze well, such as bean soup. Bean soup turns to mush when thawed. 

Now the question is will it be mush when reconstituted after being freeze-dried? It may be a while before we find out. As this was leftover bean soup, it was perfect for the experiment to find out. 

Along with the bean soup, I did several trays of eggs. My complaint about the eggs is that the Mylar bags that came with the Harvest Right freeze dryer are large enough to hold two dozen freeze-dried eggs. I need to get smaller bags as there are only two of us in the household. It will be a while until we dip into that pouch, and I think the solution will be to transfer the eggs to a Mason jar once the bag is opened. I can then vacuum seal the jar. 

We have a new "normal" when it comes to the foods available to us. The grocery stores, even Walmart's grocery, now lack the variety we've become accustomed to. We'll be fine because we have a new way of thinking, and more importantly acting on the steps necessary to have food security. 

I never thought there would come a day when I worried not about being able to purchase food items, but actually finding food items to purchase. It's been a sobering two years. 

We remain thankful for the position we're in. We've worked hard all our lives, worked hard to live debt-free, and we can do things like purchase a freeze dryer and work to secure our future. 

Nothing is ever easy, nor is it free. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

Seven jars, seven seals, seven meals

I'm calling it a success - seven jars, seven seals, seven meals. The first canning project of 2022 is complete. 

Last January, I canned vegetable soup and we opened the last jar back in mid-December. In 2021, I followed the Ball Book closely, but this year I went just a tad rogue. I had several small baggies of leftover veggies in the freezer and those, along with a small baggie of frozen diced potatoes, were added to the mix. That's really not much of a transgression. Because I add small bits of beef to my vegetable soup, the quarts have to process for ninety minutes. Beef and potatoes both require the ninety-minute process time so it's all good. 

We're in the waiting phase now. Tomorrow morning I'll wash the jars, test the seals, and put the jars on the shelf. It may seem strange, but if a jar would happen to not seal, or come unsealed, you have twenty-four hours before you need to throw the food out. So in the morning if a jar has unsealed, guess what we're having for dinner? Just put the jar in the fridge and reheat it when we're ready. But I don't think there will be any problems. Each jar was bubbling when I pulled them out of the canner and each jar sealed almost as I set it on the counter. There was no siphoning, either. 

Canning is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. I don't try to rush through any of it, so from start to finish, this project took five hours. This was the first time I used the weighted gauge "jiggler," which did seem easier than relying on the pressure gauge. The pressure gauge still worked so I was able to determine that the jiggler kept the internal pressure level at ten psi without any intervention from me. I brought the water to almost boiling, put the lid on the canner, and set my stove to where experience has taught me is the "sweet spot" for pressure canning. I allowed the canner to vent a steady stream of steam for the required ten minutes and set the jiggler in place. I watched for the jiggler to start jiggling, which coincided with the pressure gauge reading ten psi. I then set the timer for ninety minutes, and simply monitored all was proceeding as it should. 

My only concern was the amount of steam the jiggler allows to escape to regulate the pressure. My canner calls for three quarts of water to be used to process under pressure. I paid a fair amount for the canner, a Presto 23 QT, and I did not want to run it dry. I didn't need to worry. Several inches of water remained when the batch finished. 

I doubt I'll ever stop learning about home food preservation. Methods are improved and new products make the process easier. It may not appeal to everyone, but for me, it's a simple country pleasure that reminds me of my roots. And I like that. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

Harvest Right Freeze Dryer - up and running

Good idea? Bad idea? 

Money well spent? Waste of money? 

For better or for foolishness, our Harvest Right freeze dryer has arrived and is set up in my basement laundry room. This is not where it's going to live on a permanent basis. It's going on a sturdy cart fitted with an extra piece of countertop from the outdoor kitchen project. I need my counter space for folding clean clothes. 

We got the medium-sized unit and as the photo attests, it's still rather large and takes up a fair amount of space. It was simple to set up and get running - a real relief since I was on my own to do it. Cousin Dave helped get it into the house, but I needed to read the manual before I hooked it up. The manual is clearly written, and it helped to watch the YouTube video produced by Harvest Right. 

Our system has the Premiere pump, and it does run quietly. We can't hear it run and the master bedroom is directly above the laundry room. Not a problem.

So far I've only done small batches of fruit, but I'm pretty comfortable with the machine and feel ready to move on to bigger projects. Nothing I'm doing to learn the operation of the unit will be a financial loss if I mess it up. I'm excited to move on to meal projects, concentrating on those things that can't be pressure canned such as pasta and rice meals. 

Will the machine actually ever pay for itself? I'm not sure. We'll have to do a lot of freeze-drying to recoup $3,000. Is recouping the money the goal? Not really. I think the real benefit of the freeze dryer will be in the convenience of having different foods safely stored and at my fingertips. 

We've all experienced issues caused by the breakdown of our supply chain. Twice now our local grocery has not had milk. I have powdered milk in the pantry, but along with the store not having milk, there was no cream or half-and-half for our coffee. If I can freeze dry half-and-half so that all we need do is drop a pellet into our cup, that would be good. 

There are more than supply chain issues to consider. At this point in time, we have enough income to keep up with inflation. That could change at any moment. Having food stores on hand could make the difference between eating and not eating. It's something we worry about as we get older. What if we can't get to a store? Getting older is all about new worries and taking steps to avoid issues. 

Some of the fruits I've processed are strawberries, mango, raspberries, and dark cherries. That freed up freezer space for two half-gallons of milk. Tomorrow's project is freeze-drying bananas and apples and possibly trying a small amount of half-and-half. I have silicone molds that look to be a good size for creamer pellets. It should be interesting. I'll keep you posted.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

Right on time in 2022

Living rural as we do, my family is comprised of weather watchers. We watch for trends and cycles, and we know that the first week of January is typically when we get our first measurable snow. Right on time, Mother Nature brought us a bit over six inches. 

The official forecast was for one to three inches, but this weather front was tracking in from the southwest, turning north along the Blue Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. The spousal unit and I figured it would be more than three, but we didn't think it would be almost seven inches.

Everywhere I look the world is white and beautiful. Before long, when the sun rises above the mountain, it's going to be dazzling. That may not be such a pleasing thing when I go out and hop on the John Deere 1023 to clear the lane. The wind is picking up, too, and this snow is very powdery. It's blowing off the trees in whirls of mini-blizzards.

I hear people bitch about snow, how they hate it. They fail to see it as a simple country pleasure. A woman I've known since I was eight years old moved to Florida ostensibly to get away from winter weather and snow. It's a lame excuse. You can run from geography but not yourself. I have a different take on the "barrenness" of winter.

Looking out the windows of my sunroom office, I see the green of many holly trees and the neighbor's pines. The trees stand straight and tall, not slumbering, but preparing. The blanket of snow hides what is happening with the daffodil bulbs and its chill tells the bulbs to get ready. It has brought needed nitrogen which will melt into the soil to feed green growing things. The air has been cleansed of dust and allergens and smells clean. High up in the trees, the squirrel nests are full of little furry bodies that will emerge with the sunshine and race about on those branches cleared by the wind. The snow on the roof will melt and fill my cistern which will in turn water my summer garden. I could mention all the birds, but we have a red-tailed hawk in residence and the little birds, wisely, have mostly abandoned us - for now.

No, I don't mind winter or the snow.  Snow is the first harbinger of the coming spring, an early emissary we fail to acknowledge as such. I see its promise all around me, a promise it keeps every year. I can't imagine not being here on the manor to accept that promise and reap its rewards. And so I am grateful for the snow. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)