Tonight, the day before my article is due; I am faced with a blank screen with no particular subject in mind. I am sure the fear of having nothing to say is real for most writers at some time during their writing journey but it is a first for me.
So as I sit at my laptop waiting for another rain storm, I will contemplate my first two weeks back at the lake during this, my fifth, summer season. Paul won’t return until this coming weekend and I have really enjoyed settling back in, in relative solitude. The sequence of events is now well established; restart multiple services, take an inventory of my freezer and canned goods, hit the grocery store, clean the house, set up the porches for summer, go through the mail, catch up with neighbors and friends, tend to my maturing rhubarb and asparagus beds, plant my raised vegetable beds and finish by planting my annual flower pots. It was only 21 pots this year, well maybe 22 once I plant the basil a neighbor stopped by with yesterday. The mouse situation in the garage set me back a bit this year and I painfully learned all bird seed must be stored in closed containers for the winter. Did I mention the rotting pumpkin and dead bird soup I had to clean out of the garbage can before I could use it?
Well, I can rest today as it’s cold and rainy. I have left power washing the porches and cleaning out the car, inside and out, for Paul to tackle upon his return. After all, the man needs some kind of investment in setting us up for the summer season at the lake house beyond transporting multiple cases of wine and empty jars for the upcoming canning season. It just occurred to me there may be a relationship between these two things for him….hmmmm?
I have now turned my attention to this year’s summer craft priorities. I am heading to the loom room in Milan tomorrow to complete my 5th project since I returned. I know I am on a frenetic roll but I do so love the craft. With just two more rug projects on my list to complete this month, I started contemplating a 15 foot rug for my reading nook. I don’t dare tell my weaving coach or she will kick me out of the place and we haven’t even begun to tackle anything creative yet. Oh well, it is now time to focus on mastering my table loom this coming month here at home. First I will complete four sets of placemats for family/friends, move on to weaving kitchen towels in July and, finally, sew a scrap quilt in August in between canning sessions. I figure this is a pretty full slate of summer projects!
I have had fun cooking again after a four month hiatus during our winter travels. I whipped up some rhubarb sauce, made a quiche, deviled eggs, asparagus soup, a garbanzo bean grain broccolini salad, baked custard, a rhubarb cake and some tasty carrot zucchini cranberry muffins. Paul and I are both anxious to spend time in the kitchen this summer so armed with a myriad of new spices purchased during our travels, a growing list of recipes I want to try along with several boxes of old Cooks Magazines in the garage we promised ourselves we would revisit, I am thinking about writing a series of articles on cooking this summer. So how’s all that for “nothing particular” to write about tonight?