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027 Baking sourdough bread by feel
I bake my sourdough bread by feel. I’m really bad at following recipes, but baking without always scared me. Until I learned how things need to feel instead. Since then, my breads have been really good–even if I forget them in between. I’m getting visitors this weekend. There is a lot to get ready: The…
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026 I had to restart the garden house roof (twice)
I was almost done with the first half of the roof. When I put it in, I realized the hut was a lot more off kilter than I’d thought. I’d have to do it all again. The last row was a little shorter than the rest, so I had to learn how to use a…
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025 Why I bother canning potatoes
We eat a lot of potatoes. But I had no clue just how many. I was sure, what I canned last time would last a while. I was wrong. So, I ordered more potatoes, and went back to work. This time, I’ll explain it all. I’ve been preserving a lot of food lately. I’ve frozen…
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024 This isn’t how I’ll build my terrace
The terrace in my abandoned garden is falling apart everywhere. As I needed a flat surface for a workbench to continue the roof repair, it was time to tear it up and build a temporary new one. Everyone called me crazy when I adopted this neglected land. Most of the time, I don’t blame them.…
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023 When everything happens at once
There are times when everything happens at once. You feel like you are always about to start or do something. You’ll “just quickly” do this and that before. At the end of the day, you haven’t started. But somehow, it all gets done in the end. I’d put of dealing with the basement for months.…
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022 This roof will be the end of me
When I adopted this abandoned piece of land, I knew the roof would be a major project. Some days, I think this roof will be the end of me. I underestimated how long even the simpler tasks like carrying in roofing supplies would take. I can only carry one board at a time due to…
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021 The blackberries won this round
The blackberries are ripe! I had to harvest them but my land was so overgrown that an afternoon of harvesting turned into a fight with the brambles. Three days of cutting and trimming, and I finally had a harvest–but the blackberries are far from finished. Waking up to sunshine is a rare treat. When the…
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020 It’s not about finding mushrooms
We live in an apartment surrounded by forest. When we moved here last year, mushroom season was at its very end. Now that the rain has slowed, we went on hikes through the wood in search of edible mushrooms. Except for a handful of ink caps and morel earlier this year, the weather has been…
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019 I’m fixing this roof alone
A few weeks ago, I adopted a neglected piece of land. There is endless work here but also endless potential. My hands are itching to get into the soil, build beds, and start the actual garden. Before I can do any of that, I have to fix the garden hut roof. The temporary fix I…