It Has Been a Minute

Greetings. It has been way too long since I have posted any recipes. I have been doing a little cooking, doing a lot of the work that pays the bills, and spending as much time as possible with one big change. This post is about that change, a new place in the country that is very much a work-in-progress. If you are looking for a recipe, there isn’t one today. Instead, there are lots of pictures of random things. The cover photo is the view to the west from the kitchen windows at sunset.

Let’s start with the fact that, if you couldn’t tell from the cover photo, it really is in the country. There’s a bear. There’s probably a lot more than one bear, but we think we’ve seen the same one a few times. Fortunately, recently the bear seems to have found somewhere to be other than right next to our deck. And yes, for those who are wiser in the ways of the country than what we are, we have stopped putting out any birdseed.

We also have all the other animals that you expect in the country. There are rabbits that let you practically walk up too them, a bold gopher that comes up on the front step (we’ve caught him on the front door camera, not in person), deer, racoons, skunks, squirrels, and birds – so many birds. The house is wood and was unoccupied for many years. And there are woodpeckers who seem to think that the house is their brunch spot. I mentioned that the place a work-in-progress, right? We’ve replaced the rotted out deck, so it is no longer a safety concern, and the next big project is to treat and stain the outside to deter those woodpeckers. With all the animals, it could feel a bit like a Disney movie, if it weren’t for the destruction they all cause. Let’s not even talk about what the deer do to the hostas.

Turning to inside the house, the prior owner’s estate left the cupboards full of random things. It took an entire day to remove what we don’t want and reorganize what we do. Here’s what some of the cupboards looked like the day we closed.

Leaving aside the lack of organization, there is some random stuff going on in there. After organizing, we cut it down to the stuff in the three pictures below, plus that mushroom dish. I was told we had to keep the mushroom dish. The china is not at all to our taste, but hey, it’s a free service for 12, and it makes a good story to serve on it.

The stuff we didn’t keep is stacked on shelves in the garage, at least what’s left of it is in the garage. Friends have been “shopping” from those shelves for months now.

I like to think I have a pretty good understanding of things that can be used for food and beverage, but there were some things that just flummoxed me, like this:

A friend clued me in and told me that these are cocktail glasses for garden parties. Apparently, the idea is that normal glasses do not stay upright on uneven ground, but you – supposedly – can stick those stems into the ground and the beverage will be secure. Here’s the thing, those stems are glass, and this is inland New England. I suspect that the reason there are five of these, when most sets of glasses come as six, is that someone made an ill-advised attempt to stick a glass stem into the hard, rocky New England earth. Those glasses – and if that’s not what they are, leave a comment and let me know – weren’t the only odd choice. Thanks to a witty friend, we are calling the half bath “Versailles.” There’s gold trim painted on the molding, a gold-framed mirror, and a sink that is definitely a choice.

It would be one thing if the gold-themed bathroom, including that pedestal sink, matched the rest of the decor. It does not. The place is otherwise rustic, seriously rustic.

Getting back outside, it is little wonder that the animals have practically taken over considering that no one has done any maintenance for years, and the property was/is largely overgrown. We’re working on it, but it is going to take some time.

Here’s the thing, we started clearing out some of what is overgrown and found this creepy statue behind a rhododendron. Maybe we’ll just let those vines grow back.

I hope to start posting food again soon, once we get some of the kinks worked out in the new kitchen. The oven appears to be possessed, maybe by the spirit of the creepy statue? It might keep a temperature, or it might go to 550 with no warning. Let’s just say baking has been a challenge.

If you have read this far, thank you for joining me on this walk through our new project.