by Deborah
in the UP of MI
There are many types and grades of masks and gloves on the market, each having their own level of function. A wide variety is good to keep on hand.
Masks can range from a simple Surgical style (loops over the ears) to painters dust masks (semi-rigid), to the increasingly popular N-95, or N-99.. And beyond. What they are being used to block will have a heavy bearing on which one should be used, and I got a good lesson today on proper fitting.
With the weather here in the UP of MI mild and temps flirting with 45*, I took the opportunity to give my wood cook stove a mid-winter cleaning. Anyone that’s ever done this knows it’s a messy, sooty job, so I donned my food server plastic gloves (just wanted to keep my hands clean), and the N-95 mask that’s tucked in the warming oven for this type of job. The N95 Particulate Respirator has two elastic bands that holds it snug to the face, preventing edge seepage. I slipped the top band around the back of my head, leaving the bottom band loose, (after all, I wasn’t trying to block a virus or anything that small) and proceeded to take apart and brush down the stove. When I was finished, I took the mask off, noticing some soot on the inside. I checked the mirror and saw soot along the side of my nose, that was covered by the mask….it shouldn’t have been there. I blew my nose, and sure enough, more soot, which means I was breathing it. I immediately used my Netti-Pot to flush my sinus’ and clean my nose, then I tossed out that mask. Lesson learned: no matter how much of a hurry I’m in, I need to properly fit my mask to the job. Had that been a virus I was dealing with, I’d be sick now.
The gloves I used were sufficient for the job at hand. (bad pun, sorry) I merely wanted to keep my hands clean and I wasn’t being exposed to anything toxic to the skin. Using harsh chemicals for cleaning, I would use one of the many styles of surgical gloves, which would block skin absorption. Gloves are only as efficient as the user though. If your gloves are contaminated, how you take them off will determine whether you contaminate your skin, and therefore yourself. One very good practice method is to put gloves on, then ’wash’ your hands with shaving cream… now take the gloves off. If you get the shaving cream on your skin, you’ve just ’contaminated’ yourself.. Keep practicing!
Properly using a face mask and gloves, could mean sickness or life/death to you or your loved ones during a pandemic or other biological outbreak.
by Deborah in the UP
One evening, after dinner, Pete and I took our evening cocktails, and ventured forth on our usual late walk. Fortified with good food and drink, and a hard day of work, the walk was slow and casual. We were sticking to the main drive, the original old logging trail, which turned out to be a good thing….
We got about half way to the main road, when we noticed the daylight was starting to fade. In the woods, it gets dark…VERY dark, and very quickly. We turned around and picked up our pace, but it was too late.
Ever since I first saw the property, I could feel the energy all around me, the spirits of the land were happy to see me, happy that I had joined them there. Never once did I feel uncomfortable being alone, for I never felt alone. It’s hard to explain, but I was almost protected by what was around me and I could call on it to reassure me at any time. This is what I did that evening. I pushed my senses out around me and called out with my heart to my woods, to guide me home.
I took Pete’s hand and said ‘just trust me’. I led him at a slow but steady pace thru the blackness of the night, right down the middle of the road. I turned us when there was a curve, kept us from stumbling into the side brush, never slowing my pace. When we arrived to the hard left turn that led up to the house, I stopped, and turned Pete to see the light in the window, 50 yards away. He dropped my hand as if it were something disgusting and said ‘you’re spooky’….
by Deborah
in the UP
The visual and psychological success of the first booklet, Cooking in the Woods with Mushrooms, gave me the push to do more. The next booklet was Cooking in the Woods with Pasta, Breads and Pastry. At least that’s what I’m recalling. The next three writings came so quickly, with little time spacing, it’s difficult to remember! I was on a roll, and I heady with the urge to write.
As I sit here, January 8, 2011, staring out into my woods, with the snow coming down thick and heavy, I’m drawn back to the days of writing, in my other woods. Desk is different, computer much newer, internet (no internet in the deep woods), but the position is the same: off to my right, looking out a large picture window now instead of a glass door, watching the silence and peace of the wilderness dressed in white. It’s very comforting, that peace, and I feel good that I have reclaimed much of that.
My attempts to draw the reader into my way of life seemed to be working, at least it seemed so from the responses I was getting. I started out each booklet with a short story of where I was and how I got there, altering it somewhat each time. Then went on to addressing what it was that would be following. As an example, in Pasta, Breads and Pastry, I discussed the differences in flours, yeasts, and methods of kneading; also pasta and bread machines, pros and cons. The following is the introduction. Enjoy.
+++++++++++++++
I moved to the woods of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan several years ago. Having been born and raised in Detroit, and then living in a ‘rural’ community, I wasn’t sure I was prepared for the isolated life I chose. But I could never go back now.
I purchased 160 acres of hard wood forest and built a home in the middle. Wanting to cut down as few trees as necessary, I utilized old logging trails to select a building site. I first saw the property in October, when all the Maple trees were golden yellow and the ground cover was still lush and green. I fell in love with it on sight and signed the papers on the trunk of the Realtor’s car.
Concessions would have to be made. After all, I was ten miles from the nearest power lines and over a mile from the nearest county maintained dirt road. I heat with wood in the winter and cook with wood all year long. The household power is from solar charged batteries and refrigeration is a renovated antique icebox. Many of my friends and family thought I was, well, nuts. I had to be crazy to give up civilization for a life of hard work and deep snows, a life of black lies and black nights, a life of peace and quiet and tranquility, a life of independence and self sustenance. I think you can guess what I think about that!
Part of my life-style is wintering in. Now that means different things to different people, even up here. For me, it means parking the jeep at the main road a mile away just before the drive becomes impassable, and then snow-shoeing back and forth until Spring, usually four to five months. Even when I can drive out easily, running to the store for a loaf of bread or package of hotdog buns is out of the question. The nearest mart is ten miles away (a half hour on dirt roads) and major shopping is 30 miles away. I stock the pantry in November, and make everything possible from scratch. I don’t mind! You’ll hear me say often: I love to cook!
Although I was raised in a Polish kitchen, our eating habits did vary due to my parents growing up during the Depression. We were taught to eat what was on the table, which usually meant what was available. The one thing that was consistent was fresh breads.
I have always loved to cook. The first thing I ever made on my own was a loaf of plain white bread. I was 16 and enthralled with creating something that tasted so good. That was many years ago and I’ve come a long way. One of my greatest assets in cooking, I believe, was that I could follow directions, a recipe. That came from learning to sew and reading patterns. As I continued to try new recipes, I found that I had at my disposal an entirely new world of tastes. It was also endlessly fascinating to me that I could successfully alter those recipes and create a whole new dish.
It used to annoy me when asking for the recipe of something I really enjoyed, to be told “oh, some of this, some of that”, but as I experimented I realized that I, too, often did not measure ingredients. Bread recipes are like that. I measure the liquid, and I measure the yeast, everything else is tossed in. I will give you measurements, but sometimes it will say ‘1-2 T’. The exact amount can vary by how much you like that ingredient, or by how much you have on hand! If you only have ¼ cup of potato flakes instead of ½ cup, I promise not to tell anyone! Nothing is so rigid in cooking that you can’t make a few adjustments.
+++++++++++++
This was/is the introduction to Pasta, Breads and Pastry.. With one alteration. You, the reader, are now aware that I no longer live in the deep woods and ‘Pete’ and I are no longer together. I have removed reference to him as a means of moving on, and preparing to republish these books where he gets no credit for my hard work.
by Deborah in the UP
Even with all the articles I wrote for Country Side, it was still a surprise when another editor contacted me. A gal in lower Michigan was starting up a home based homesteading monthly newsletter, and asked if I would write for her. Wow! I was honored and of course said yes. After a few months, she asked if I had any recipes to contribute to her latest project: a cookbook for and about Morels. I’ve taken wild mushroom classes from some of the best in the UP, but I had never found a single Morel.. Truth be told, I still haven’t! I had to decline, but it got me thinking………
… if SHE could do a cook book, why couldn’t I?? So I did. And the series of Cooking in the Woods was born, with Cooking in the Woods.. With Mushrooms. It was an exercise in organization like I had never had before. First I had to select my recipes, then organize them by appetizer or main dish, all keeping with fresh, wild ingredients. Once I had that done, which was the easy part, I had to write each one out, with the commentary that became my style. I printed out a copy, and a cover (see photo). That’s when I realized I needed to set up a method that would print the recipes on both sides, in landscape and in order! Then I reprinted, and the page numbers were perfect!
The next books were a bit more difficult, but along came Cooking in the Woods With Soups, Snacks and Salads, then With Pasta, Breads and Pastries, and With Venison, Fish and Chicken. All based on the binder category’s I had set up for my recipe clipping, but with a nicer sound J . The way the printing was done, I printed one copy out, then put the stack in, reversed, and printed again, so it all came out on both sides and in order!! When I was happy with what I saw, I knew I needed it edited and critiqued. So I sent it to my sister. Now, my youngest sister, Lorna, has always been very critical and judgmental of the rest of the family, quick with a sharp tongue, so she was perfect! I asked her to find any errors, circle them and send it back. Ever anxious to point out my flaws, she dove right into the project. Meanwhile, I too, worked with the second Master Copy, finding any errors and correcting.
Once all the errors were fixed, I printed it out again, then took that to the printing office, and paid to have them do it. I did my own covers and sealed the ink with artist spray. Lining all the freshly printed sheets up around on the table, the counters, I did my own collating, then my own stapling. An intense project! But the local stores were receptive to stocking my missives! I was an author!
The edition after those, Cooking in the Woods With Elegance, was much more difficult.. And has never been completed. It was twelve complete menu’s, according to the month or the holiday, and always with local fresh ingredients. Some day I’ll finish that.
But back to that first one, Cooking in the Woods With Mushrooms. As I hardily advise in the introduction, never pick wild mushrooms unless you know what you’re doing, or are with someone who does. This past year was The Year of the Chanterelles. These delectable orange fungi were in great abundance. My gal pal and I would go to the fields every week, sometimes twice, and always come home with five to ten pounds of mushrooms… each! I have them frozen, dried, powdered. I ate them fresh on pizzas, with steak and mixed into other dishes. One of my favorite ways to have Chanterelles is in a risotto. A risotto is rice cooked slowly, with liquid added a little at a time. That alters the texture of the rice some and allows the flavor of the liquid to be fully absorbed.
Chanterelle Risotto
3 cups chicken broth
3 T. olive oil
1 pound (or more) Chanterelles, sliced thin
(or a blend of mushrooms)
1 shallot, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup rice (your choice)
½ cup dry white wine
Salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
2 T. butter
1/3 cup fresh shredded Parmesan Cheese
chives
Warm the broth in a sauce pan. This is essential to a good risotto. Adding cold broth stops the cooking process, so always add warm.
Warm 2T. Oil in a sauté’ pan, add the mushrooms. (Wild mushrooms need to be cooked a full ten minutes to destroy any harmful enzymes/bacteria.) Cook over a low heat to retain the golden orange color. Remove from pan and set aside. Add remaining T. of oil to pan, add shallot and garlic, cook one minute, then add rice, stirring to coat. When rice has taken on a pale color, add wine. Stir constantly until wine is fully absorbed. Add ½ cup of broth, stirring until absorbed. Repeat until all the broth is used and the rice is cooked al dente.
Remove from heat and stir in the mushrooms (and all that wonderful juice), butter, ½ the cheese. Garnish with remaining cheese and chives.
Many thanks to my friend Kathy for sharing this recipe with me.
by Deborah in the UP
I just LOVE to cook, and I’m pretty good at it too. My mom was a good cook, but with four girls in the family, she didn’t have the time to teach us individually, so I had to learn on my own. I took a home economics class in school, and learned the basics. What I learned the most was how to read and follow a recipe….. And there are some great recipes out there! Which is why I love cooking magazines and find it very difficult to toss one out. That became a problem..
One winter I decided I would sort thru all the cooking magazines and keep only what I wanted… what a chore! With every magazine, I would flip thru the recipe guide, check out something that sounded good, and then cut that page out if I felt it worth trying. Every day I would go thru four to six of the glossy books, drooling over the perfect presentation of pasta’s or cookies or glistening roasts. After awhile, I had a stack of recipes to try, and many more publications to go through. I needed a plan. I needed to organize them.
I took the stack of pages and sorted them by topic: meats, vegetables, pasta, sweets. I trimmed the recipe and glued it to a loose leaf page, that would eventually go into a notebook. Realizing that I needed to separate them even further, the category’s became Seafood, Chicken & Meat in one book, with dividers for those three subjects. Then there was Pasta, Breads & Sweets, and Vegetables & Salads. Because I foraged wild mushrooms, that had a binder all to itself, and the last being the inevitable Miscellaneous. Once I decided on this organization of topics, the selection process went much easier and much faster. It wasn’t long and I was done, with stacks of chopped up periodicals ready for the dump.
Living in the woods allowed me the leisure of cooking all day long if I so chose.. During the winter that is. What a wonderful time I had of it too. I eventually used a spiral notebook to create weekly menu’s, mainly so I wouldn’t repeat a dish too often. It also kept me trying something new. After the first run of a new dish, we would grade it, one to four stars, and I made notes on any changes. I found a few recipes that the sauce was just so yummy, but not enough of it… so I would note to double that part. There were of course some that were awful, and just got a big “X” across them! Some were tasty, but not spectacular … and I wanted SPECTACULAR! So I kept looking and trying.
I think the most challenging was the sweets. I’ve never been into sweets. As a young girl I had Halloween candy left over at Easter. But I persevered and made “old time” recipes, like cobblers, and Apple Pandowdy and Peasecod cookies. Of course I tasted them, but Pete benefited most, he loved sweets. Come Christmas time, I would go into full cookie mode, making a dozen different types, and making up trays that we would take when visiting in town. Now THAT part was really fun! Hungarian butter horns, rum balls, snowflakes and peppermint candy cane cookies; Angel Wings and sugar cookies to hang on the tree. Baking is really an art! And I was in my glory!
All this was just the first step in creating my own cookbooks.. But I’ll save that for next week, and share some of my favorites.
by Deborah in the UP
“The best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry“…(with deepest respect to both Robert Burns and John Steinbeck).. And that is how I’m feeling about my experiment to live only off my preps for the month of November. I had good intentions, very good intentions to do this. Perhaps December will be a better.
I did well for the first eight or nine days.. Then the new “tipping point” was revealed, and I once again got nervous. The tipping point, that unknown event that will precede and instigate the slide. What slide? Another unknown, but could be an economic downturn (as if there isn’t that happening already), or an attack of some sort. It’s that date we look back on and say “ah, yes, that’s when it all started…” When is that tipping point? Tomorrow, Sunday, November 14, 2010, or so says the muse. Sooner or later, someone is going to be right in their predictions.
To be fair to myself, I have not gotten too far off my track. I added more cat food to the pantry, a few more bags of chicken feed, another bale of straw. (It’s hard to explain to a dependent animal I don’t have enough food for them.) I had some work done on my car (boy, was THAT expensive!.. And honestly, couldn’t wait), and got a fresh eye exam and new glasses. Oh, and I got the propane topped off. All things that needed to be done anyway, and I would have been kicking myself if something DID happen and I hadn’t done them. Otherwise, I haven’t done ’prep buying’… and that was part of my goal for November.
But I HAVE worked on goals for being prepared.
My pantry storage area is very limited and I’ve been using my spare bedroom for overflow. Overflow? What an understatement , it was getting hard to walk in there. That room also has a set of bunk beds for my ‘what-if’ scenario’s (what-if my son and his family had to move in here for safety? What-if one of my trusted friends needed to shelter here?) My recent project has involved taking those bunk beds down, and storing them out in the barn, then installing shelves in that space. Boy, that sounds simple…lol. Wrestling with those mattresses by myself was likely amusing to anyone watching, and dismantling the bunks themselves.. Let’s just say it was an exercise in creativity! Then the area had to be thoroughly cleaned; and while it was accessible, I washed the window and put up a light barrier for security. After which I could begin to assemble the new shelves, level them, secure them to the wall. Only then could I start on unpacking and organizing all the boxes that were cluttering up the floor. Boxes filled with two summers of canning the excess from the garden. With everything organized now, I can see what I have, what I don’t, where it is, and what to rotate. And I’m totally amazed at how much floor space I’ve gained…plenty of room for an air mattress for that ‘what-if’ …
Winter is getting ever closer as I watch the snow fall here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but I‘m also closer to being ready for it.
by Deborah in the UP
Day 1, Nov. 1, 2010
Monday is usually the day I go to town, do banking, do my shopping. Ah,… no shopping for the month of November.. Whoa… Weekends are when I work, when I work, during this time of the year. I worked on Friday, so did my banking that day, and stocked up on a few things that I really knew I would need. Like cat food and chicken feed. I can re-balance what *I* use, but how can I explain no chow to the cat? He and the chickens depend on me to keep them fed. So, yes, Friday was my Monday, and it was still October..
So, today, not going to town, I worked on my Fall prep list.. It’s almost complete now. I had those few minor things to do: cut back the herbs, move shovels to the porch and deck (hope I didn’t jinx myself.. lol… even though snow IS predicted for this weekend), moved flower boxes to the ground, dumping annual flowers. The cistern has been turned and the gutters taken down. I put up more permanent winter walls for the chickens on their yard, and already turned the bird baths over. I filled the bird feeder this afternoon and hung it on the Sheppard hook that had held flowers this summer. Within an hour, the chickadees and the nuthatches found the new food source. Gave me a good smile.
With a bit of extra time on my hands, I cleaned out a cupboard.. My vitamins. Removing all the out of date stuff, immediately cut the stash in half! I do get lax on taking my supplements, but I do eat well, and fresh.
Last major prep to do is empty and winterize the hot tub.. I’m just not ready to do that.. Yet…….
Breakfast was a slice of homemade toast with a single slice of white American cheese.
Lunch was a can of cream of mushroom soup with an extra can of mushrooms added.
Dinner was a chicken leg, baked, plus some fried eggplant, after an appetizer of asparagus spears wrapped in procuitto.
Day two:
Voting day, and it was so nice outside I did a few of the remaining winter preps: raked the driveway of big rocks that would cause havoc with the snow blower , swept the deck again, put a new alarm on the food shed (persistent bears, but the alarm does work!).
Day three:
Snow is predicted for tomorrow, so I’ve decided it was time.. To drain and winterize the hot tub. I’ve really enjoyed soaking at night with these cool temps but I don’t want to hassle with the draining while it’s snowing. There’s usually a good 6” of water left in the foot well that needs to be scooped out, and standing in that cooling water with bare feet isn’t always comfortable, but I had a brain storm! I have a small submersible pump for the flowing bird bath, and extra tubing; oh, my, worked like a charm! Took that water down to nothing. Then I added two gallons of RV antifreeze into the pump, as it filled it pushed the remaining water out. The tub is buckled down and all set for the winter. All that remains on my list is to set the four flower boxes that sit on the deck railing, down underneath the edge of the deck. That would take two minutes and could be done in the snow. For right now, all the asparagus ferns and vinca vines look so nice, I want to leave them there.
I’m working on a new entry for the Living in the Woods series. Every now and then I do remember some of the more pleasant times and want to share them. For now, though, I’m remembering how different my childhood Halloween was from today.. Where even 5 year olds were safe on the streets of Detroit, and no one ever considered putting razor blades, pins or drugs into the candy. It saddens me that the children today need to have their goodies passed thru a metal detector, or just have community parties at the fire hall or local school gym to know their candy hasn’t been tampered with. To quote someone else, I need to “wrestle with reality”, and accept the changing times.
Starting next Monday, November 1, I’m starting on a month long experiment. I will live strictly off my preps for the entire month.
I sorted out my freezer today, and realized I have beef and lots of mushrooms (it was a very good year for foraging!), but almost no chicken. I love chicken. My pantry is full with all my canned and dried goods from the garden, so I’m good on that side. I’ve got plenty of flour, sugar, salt, yeast for baking, plus canned fruits. The chickens provide me with eggs. Paper products are good for many months, as are soaps and shampoo. I’ve already stocked up on bags of food for the chickens and the cat.
So this weekend, just before the first of the month, I will be sure to pick up extra chicken, and lettuce. Even though I’ve an Aerogarden growing leaf lettuce, that’s not enough for my craving for fresh salads. If I run out during the month, oh well… there may come a time when we don’t have the opportunity to stock up.. one last time.
I will post what I use and consume during this time, and what I find I‘m short of. I do need to go into town at least once a week for work, but I will avoid shopping. I highly recommend doing this test at least once a year, to see where you are. What a ride!!
Deborah
In the UP of MI
I have several very large Maple trees that dot my front yard. In the summer they give my home wonderful shade. In the spring, I tap them for tasty maple syrup. What a change the past few weeks have brought. Two weeks ago, these trees were fully leafed, with vibrant greens, and just a tinge of gold or orange at the edges of the upper most leaves. Then very quickly, too quickly it seems, the leaves turned orange, then yellow, then brown. Today those trees are bare, all in just two weeks. Winter is almost here.
Over these past few weeks I’ve worked at that Fall Prep list I mentioned before. There are very few things left to do, and all very minor. Today was a couple of big items: The garden has been roto-tilled, getting it ready for next year, thanks to my brother. This summer I allocated a 12×12 plot for them to plant in my garden, that gets full sun where theirs does not. Turning the soil over was his “rent“, and he seemed happy to pay it. The other major project was putting up plywood walls around the chickens yard, to keep the snow and wind out. This will let the chicks get some fresh air and exercise yet be protected from the harsh winter weather. I cut all the 4×8 sheets into more manageable sizes and attached handles for ease of moving and lifting (see picture). I’m extra pleased with how the walls are now, and they can be stored and used year after year, without waiting for someone to help me. Being self reliant is important to me.
The days feel longer now to me, even with the shorter daylight hours. My seasonal work is done at the resort, and the B&B is closed until the Holidays. I’ve got lots of time on my hands now to do all those little things I’ve been putting off or that just plain need doing in preparation for the coming season change. I’ve put all my wood in for the winter, and then some; the kindling is now stacked in a separate shelter, but readily available; hoses are drained and wrapped and the outside water is off; the bird baths have been turned over; even the driveway solar lights are down and stored away, while the 4’ orange sticks replace them, marking the drive for plowing snow. I’ve changed the furnace filters, even though I heat with wood and the furnace rarely runs. The wood cook stove was thoroughly cleaned over the summer, including brushing the chimney of soot and replacing the gaskets; I’ve rotated one of the 55 gallon drums of gas, and refilled it, an expensive afternoon!! I still need to clean the sink drains, but my son is changing the faucet for me, so I will wait and do it then.
I think many times our lives can change just as quickly as the colors of the leaves and just as pronounced. There is a CME that is heading our direction, one of the largest recorded. Will either be a total non-event, or change many lives.
Week of 10/3/10
There are times when I really feel as though I’m not doing enough, that I’m not making enough headway in what I have to do. So what I’m doing now, is writing a daily journal, all the little things I do every day; it lets me see how much I really AM doing!
Monday. Went to town, banking, minor shopping; bale of straw for cleaning the coup, will do again end of Nov.; got some good deals at Shopko with canning clearance. Found a donut maker for Pam for Christmas. Drained last hose and turned off water; dug potatoes, total 20# (planted one pound); put all canning equipment back in shed for now; cut the grass; baked pumpkin for pie contest this weekend.
Tuesday. What a glorious day! 65, sunny, clear blue skies. Swept the deck and put all the pots away; swept & mopped computer room and then same for kitchen; did early morning stretches; took a one mile walk; bagged up all the dried kidney & dragons beans; planted tulips; have one massage to do at the Lighthouse tonight; got package from Eric with magazine and his Guinness World Record certificate!!
Wednesday. Cleaned out the barn refrigerator and turned it off, should save some power now. Weather perfect. Set old bale of straw by steps, adding squash, as autumn decorations. Took a short walk and cut more branches for tables. Two massages at LH, my left thumb is hurting bad. Back to town to dump electronics from barn to start cleaning that up. Will have to park in there before long..
Thursday: finished harvesting the garden: pulled all the beets, stripped the brussel sprouts, picked a few remaining cherry tomatoes; then turned the chickens loose. Three massages at LH. Another walk, doing better. Chickens love running around in the garden now.
Friday: short day at the Club, which was ok, still had more clean up to do in the barn, and had to bake pies for the contest tomorrow. This whole week has been great weather, I am concerned that the weather will change in a heartbeat, without notice, and it will go very cold and snow soon. Moved a shelf into the chicken feed room to store all the winter squash. I’ll have to insulate around the door, since I’m going to try keeping that room above freezing with a light bulb.
Saturday: put the old propane space heater on free-cycle and someone picked it up this morning, much more room in the barn now. Then it was off to the Autumn Festival. Four hours long, and it was actually fun! Lots of locals spending time together, the weather was perfect. My pie didn’t win in the contest, but it still was good. Spent some time in the evening with my brother.
Looking back at this day to day account, really makes me feel better. I see where my time goes and how much I’m really getting done. Next week will be even more. The prep list is getting shorter.
