Lacking or Not

Sorry it's been a while.  Should have something to say.  Life going on as usual.  Loving the change from summer to fall.  Cool nights and warm days.  Family is great--though sometimes we are frustrated with each other.  Garden is doing really well.  The greenhouse is pumping out tomatoes which I have to get around to canning.  Some interesting ferments on the way: pickled beans, kraut made from kohlrabi. 

Our fridge broke which has been a challenge.  Annoyingly it's only 4 years old which pisses me off.  But it's now been two weeks and more since we've had it.  There's always something else which needs a new part.  I'm at the point where I think we should just forget about a fridge but that's a step too far (for now).  

We've been living out of a cooler and our chest freezer.  We freeze yogurt pots full of water and use them to keep our food cool.  Inside the cooler we have dill pickles (cucumbers), miso, almond milk, mayo (always!), earth balance, butter, fish oil and a few leftovers.  We have given up refrigerating ketchup and tamari and all that.  You know that in the UK it doesn't say 'refrigerate after opening' on ketchup bottles.  

We have stopped making leftovers which is a challenge for me since I like to make big meals and make them stretch over a few days.  Sometimes I freeze things but our freezer is quite full (and disorganized) too.  I know a couple of guys in Halifax who do without a fridge happily and just do the same thing.  They have been doing it for years now.  A bit more organization but way more energy efficient (not that that means the big corp that runs the power here will be burning less coal and that's the whole efficiency problem).  

I read this interesting book called World Made by Hand, imagining a future without the oil economy.  In it the characters had this interesting stone house near a stream which was essentially like a refrigerator.  They even kept a human body in it once before burial.  Makes me think that would be an interesting idea since our brook never freezes and runs cold all year round.  But going out to the brook for butter seems painful.  

Oh such spoiled humans!

Instant Autumn

September has arrived and the temperature is dropping.  It's like clockwork out here.  September is fall.  Even after the warm, dry summer we had, nothing stops the seasons.  I wondered if we might have an extended summer into September because of it.  Even though it's early and that's still possible, it doesn't feel much like summer.  It was six degrees the other night.  Then twenty overnight the next.  So it's still figuring it out.  The potatoes are dying back and the cabbage are forming up nicely.  Even though it's cooler fall is such a great time.  Can't wait for all the fun stuff to come.  Particularly kraut!