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032 An apartment on hold
The cold, dark days of living in Northern Germany are approaching fast. What sunshine hours we still get are spent in the garden. I haven’t started any of my dark-day projects. The apartment is essentially on hold. I have a very limited amount of energy. I have to ration my “spoons” to leave energy for…
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031 The roof is coming together
Time is running out on the roof. I need to finish it before temperatures fall, before school starts, before the rain returns. Two lovely friends had helped me finish the wood, but now I was back to two hands. Two hands, and a whole lot of motivation. I have never redone a roof before, never…
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030 Just the normal chaos
Fall came quickly this year. Nights are getting chilly. My afternoons are spent fixing the roof, but there are all the things that always need to get done. The usual chaos, so to say. I am getting better (and faster) at al of it. Slowly, I am adding more skills, as others become routine. I…
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029 I had to accept some help
I’ve missed a deadline for the roof. One side of the roof has been closed for a while now. But there was still the second side. There, I hadn’t even taken off the old roofing material. And the wood was only the first of three layers. Friends were coming to help with the second layer.…
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028 I need to make some progress
It’s time to make some progress. The start of the semester is approaching fast. I long decided that the garden isn’t allowed to add stress to my life. Still, some things need to get done. Other things just help to clear the head. I don’t tend to set goals. Meeting deadlines is a game in…
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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.…