December in Review

Mick and I headed from Cortland to Ontario County when he had drill in early December. That same weekend, Marty headed from Ontario to Cortland County to hunt, and he returned not too many hours later with a beautiful buck!


Mick made brack in the chicken fryer on top of the stove -- so much quicker than making individual loaves, and it turned out great!


A spruce tree that Mick dug up on Thanksgiving and repotted became our Christmas tree.


I finally finished my woolen knee socks, and boy, are they warm!


I then turned my attention to Christmas-color potholders/hot pads.


Mick completed log rows K and L, finishing just as the sun disappeared behind the western hills.


We celebrated Christmas with the Cressmans in Andes. Mick made a beautiful and delicious rosemary roasted garlic dip in his own savory bread bowl. It was the most we have used our rosemary since we planted it two years ago, and it has really come into its own!


Mick is taking excellent care of his plants this winter. The top of the plant stand is lit by flourescent lights with a daylight-like color temperature, with foil situated so that it reflects as much light as possible to the plants. Contents include: 4 pots of sage, 2 pots of sweet leaf [stevia], 1 pot containing several peppermint plants, 1 pot of rosemary, 1 window box containing oregano, garlic, thyme, and rosemary, and another window box with chives, garlic, lemon balm, thyme, and mint.


He also set up a plant area in one half of the bottom of the plant stand with 4 CFL lights at appropriate color temperatures. It is quite bright (hence the shades)! He is nurturing several honey locust plants that he started from seeds collected at SUNY Cortland while I was "at work", as well as a couple of burr oak acorns collected by Marty and Heidi on their road trip from Arizona to New York.


Steve came down this past week, and we enjoyed our visit with him. He and Mick completed row M, the first row of logs to span the doorway and windows, so the first row to go completely around! Only two rows of logs remain.


A Christmas gift from my folks, imagined by Mom and executed by Dad. The little bit of log cabin is a lovely reminder that we won't be living in a trailer in a village forever!


I made pizza crust and sweet potato bread yesterday and, true to form, made a mess. :) Both turned out deliciously though!


Merry Christmas.

GREEN tea

This has nothing to do with the house, but it was really weird. :) We made tea this afternoon by boiling some stevia leaves, then steeping some mint leaves. The tea turned out REALLY GREEN. (It's also delicious.)

Back to Work!

Little progress has been made on the house since Thanksgiving, due to a diverse collection of uncooperative weather and schoolwork. However, the four hemlocks that we transplanted on Thanksgiving morning are doing great! (You can see three of them in this picture.)


On Saturday morning Mick headed up to the hill. Marty and John arrived soon after, and my parents [and sister] were in town so my dad spent most of the day up there too. By Saturday evening, the four of them had shoveled and chipped the ice and slush off the floor, braced the walls so they are no longer likely to be blown over, and completed a total of nine rows of logs. It really feels like a snow fort now! :)