Sep 15 - a day without a plan

Somehow every day gets filled up. Yesterday, however, was filled with a very down to earth activity. Around 8:30 we heard a tell-tale beep-beep-beep of a truck backing up and it only took a second to realize that this must be Halle Brooks arriving with the firewood. I got my coat on (it was about 45 degrees out) and sure enough, there was Halle positioning his truck by the woodshed up by the garden. After dumping the firewood he came in a visited for a minute and then he was off ... and so was I ... might as well start piling since it won't pile itself.

So -- that activity defined the day. I piled over 4 cords, I figured, and then started piling wood in the old woodbox that I'd moved up to that area the other day. There was no other way to figure out how much 1 cord was -- Jason's share of the 6 cords delivered by Halle. Sure enough, just as I was finishing that, along came Jason and Gavin thinking that they would see if they could lift the woodbox. Well, by this time it was quite a bit heavier since it was loaded up with a cord of wood. Gavin got their old trailer that they use for hauling brush ... we loaded it up with 1/2 of the wood ... and dumped that over on Jason's driveway. We then moved the other 1/2 cord out of the woodbox and removed the box-affair that was attached to the trailer and loaded the woodbox onto the trailer.



Over at Jason's, we emptied his old woodbox, positioned the "new" woodbox appropriately, roughly leveled it with some pressure-treated 1x10's that I had left over from building my deck last year and then re-attached the brush-box to the trailer and moved the rest of the wood to his driveway. Jason et al then piled their wood while I finished piling mine.

Sandy, meanwhile, had been doing some of her packing for our European trip and when the temperature hit 50 or so, came up to the barn and put a coat of varathane on the 4x8's. I finished piling wood just in time to shower and change to go to church in Port Loring. Sure enough the X5 battery was dead and I had to boost it to start. The car had been sitting for a few days -- there is not much left in its battery. I'll buy a new battery once we are down in Florida.

Back from Port Loring, I got ready for our deep-fried dinner, getting out the burner and pot, adding peanut oil and starting to warm it. I dried out the wings and drumsticks, prepping them for frying. Jason, Lorraine, Gavin & Kyle came over -- they brought potatoes cut for French Fries, dipping sauce for the wings, and desert.

We feasted ... what a great dinner. I'd made some cole-slaw earlier in the day; Sandy tried a recipe with cauliflower and a semi-sweet dark cumin sauce (she would describe it better); chicken wings & drumsticks & fries; pepper slices in balsamic vinegar ... we all ate too much !! Then, after a quiet period, we had Lorraine's home-made Bartlett Pear pie -- not tart, but not sweet either.

The deep frying was so easy -- I did the wings separately from the drumsticks because I figured that the latter would cook longer. Once the wings (or drumsticks) are cooked they float to the top. I cooked them about 2 minutes after they floated to the top -- delicious ! We cooked the fries for longer after they floated up. They were easier to taste-test for readiness.

Cleanup is also fairly easy. The only difficult part is the size of the pot, but I cleaned it in the laundry tub. Of course this is after the oil has cooled down and I can pour it back into its container -- I was surprised -- it all came back except for about 1/2 cup (on three gallons). Now ... that could be part peanut oil and part disolved chicken fat ... not sure. During the cooking it steams and I had expected that we were boiling off some oil, but perhaps that was mostly moisture being cooked out of the wings/drumsticks -- and once the water is gone, then they float to the top. Gavin suggested that theory and it makes sense.

Jason had more of a plan for the day that I -- finishing up some tile work; installing the toilet; hanging the door -- all in his new bathroom. He got some done but dealing with the woodbox and piling wood had not been in his plan. Halle's deliveries tend to be spontaneous, at least from our point of view, and you go with the flow. That's life in the small town. There's New York time; there's Jamaica time; there's Loring time ... The difference between Jaimaica time and Loring time is as follows -- in Jamaica, things get scheduled but work moves slowly. In Loring, schedules ... well, things happen when appropriate ... but once work starts, it goes quickly. I can deal with the latter easier than the former !

And now, we're on the eve of being on the move again. It's not clear how often I'll be able to update the blog or catch up with email over the next couple of weeks but I will do my best.

Cheers !