End of the Week Assessment=Tired

I've reached the end of the week feeling bone tired [an elderly sort of complaint] 

and needing to assure myself that I must have done something to list as accomplishments.

In a year that has included moving house--twice--and being involved in the renovation of two houses to date, I have lost the sense of personal satisfaction that has usually been provided by my sewing and writing. Even time to read has been at a premium--I sit with a book in my hands, but often rather foggy in concentration.

My week in review includes feeding and cleaning up after cats--of course!

The laundry gets done, bed made, dishes washed, etc.

I water the little plants residing in the pantry: these are the three surviving rosemarys, still so small, but they've had larger pots and fresh soil for encouragement.

The seedling muskmelons, tomatoes, lavender and coneflower are out-growing their containers on the pantry windowsill. I must find better accommodations for them in the next few days.

A good morning to bake--temps only just above freezing at daybreak.

Chocolate chip cookies with dried cranberries and pecans.

Not exactly what we needed, but chocolate is comforting.

Cinnamon rolls to share with a neighbor.

I am justifying the sweet treats as fuel for our labors!

Our favorite loaves--anadama bread.

I usually make this traditional New England favorite with a cooked cornmeal mush as the base.

A friend in Vermont says he adds the raw cornmeal to the other ingredients. In the interest of time I did this today and I'm pleased with the result--a bit more 'crunch' to the crust.

I took advantage of the wood stove to simmer a hearty potato soup.

Bread, still warm from the [electric] oven, with a slathering of pimento cheese which I made Wednesday evening.

While Jim worked Tuesday repairing the ceiling at the Cane Valley house, I clipped shrubbery and then loaded up a pile of bricks which had been left by the former owners.

At Jim's request I applied polyurethane in a swath down the left side of the hallway--muttering as I did so that I would not have laboriously ripped up the carpet in that area if I'd had an inkling we'd be moving. He 'polyed' the other side today.

Thursday was [at last] a day of bright sunshine.

My load of bricks from Cane Valley was still in the van. The former occupants of the lower farmhouse had placed bricks around an old well head, now overgrown with weeds. Moving the top layer of bricks was easy, but the bottom round had to be pried out with a shovel.

In spite of a late lunch at The Mustard Seed I was definitely flagging by the time I unloaded and stacked my bricks in the area where I hope to create a perennial garden. 

Our soil is gritty with many small rocks--I foresee much effort will be needed.

I parked the van between the shop and lower porch, trundled out the shop vac and spent half an hour hoovering out crumbs of earth, several families of wood lice who had emerged from the bricks and several gruesome looking spiders.

The electric company arrived with three trucks and sufficient manpower to install the overhead wires and hook up power to the 'box' just inside the gate to the lower house.

Jim promptly ran the heavy cable across the ground and into the basement.

He has several outlets installed--very evident as he has the radio or CD player blasting over the noise of drills and power saws.

Today Jim put up the partial wall which will divide the huge square room into kitchen and dining space. I am pleased to note that he has taken my suggestions to heart regarding location of the bathroom and laundry area.

[Of course he now believes it was all his own idea!  He did have a great brainstorm for creating a 

new pantry.]

Thus another week has unraveled--no great accomplishments,  rather a certain sense of plodding [not running] in circles.

If I have a job description it may be 'The Person Who Picks up the Pieces'!

I am not as martyred as I sound--merely feeling my age!