Neighbor Bill came by yesterday mid-morning with a large box of tomatoes. He came back in the afternoon to fix the lawn mower. It was nothing more than debris under the hood that had got around the spark plug, keeping it from sparking properly. He used the air compressor to blow it out and it worked like a charm. To test it out, Bill mowed a small section of the lawn. Win for me!
This is a photo diary of the second half of the day. Roasting the tomatoes and getting a little over four quarts.
Then in the evening using one of many zucchini and some garlic in a sauté, adding in freshly roasted tomatoes and fresh basil.....
Served over pappardelle. It was so fresh.
We think Keetah can hear certain sounds, slightly. Which is cause for much barking. MUCH barking. I have no idea if she will ever regain enough hearing to say she can actually hear. We know she can bark!
The afternoon will be spent mowing what is now long grass and weeds. The rain we had last week brought the green back. There isn't any more in sight right now, not encouraging. We've had wonderfully cool mornings with temperatures in the 50s. I love it!
I'm not going to love heating this winter, I got the annual letter from the propane supplier with the locked in price on their budget plan and what my averaged use over three years was. My monthly payment will be just under $400/month. It was just under $300 this year. When I started using the budget plan it was $145. This is just propane, no electricity. I have a wood pellet stove we haven't used for a few years. I may be firing it up, although the pellets aren't cheap. Minnesota does not regulate pricing of propane like it does other utilities. I don't know if I'm going to lock in the price this year.
So, that's my story. Lawn, tomatoes, barking and heating costs. I need to settle down into a quiet life, enough of this wild and crazy.
8 comments:
Eeeks on the propane!
I'm pretty glad we have a tiny/cottage house.
I can't imagine a $400/month payment.
Dang.
Your meals are amazing. The tomatoes look great!
My house isn't huge, Val. It's probably normal for houses now, but it's all on one floor and about half of it is vaulted, an addition put on by the person we bought from. It takes more to heat a space like that. It is getting to be too much, add in the hay prices this year and it's mind boggling. I think we will be layered up this winter.
The tomatoes were really good.
How do you save those gorgeous roasted tomatoes? That meal looks so delicious!!! We are the last house on our road to have gas and we probably pay about $1700 for the year. It keeps going up....our house is pretty big and we keep the upstairs around 60 and have a fire going in the kitchen most days from November until the end of March. So glad that your dog is able to hear a few things! I still need about 150 bales of hay and am trying to be patient.
Sandra, I get it. That was one thing that hubby loved about the house/cottage.
It was meant for one person. We have very little storage, but we also have very little in heating bills.
Our cooling bills this summer were a bit big, but since hubby needs A/C for his asthma and breathing issues, we do it.
I was fearful of the hay prices but lucky we had a good season and it was the same as we purchased last year. Maybe he took pity on us old farts!
One day I am thinking of a condo type setting...maybe. I would miss our woods terribly.
We did the pre buy program...I ordered and paid for 700 gallons it was $2.14 a gallon. We won't use it all but will get credit on next years bill if we don't use it all. They keep our tank full and monitor it. Two years ago we paid $1.14 so that sucks...last year it was $1.79 a gallon. The house is 1800 square feet and we keep it warm because we are old and get cranky if it is cold. 74 is our usual heat number with 66 at night. Our electricity has been staying steady we belong to a Electrical coop so that helps. Most months it is $120.
Well we have to have heat and I like electricity also!
Maybe some of Keetah's hearing is coming back!
Lori, I freeze the roasted tomatoes. They thaw looking just the same as when they went in the freezer. They had my 3 year average at 2200 gallons. We have a 1000 gallon tank. I keep the house at 67, 64 at night. I have a fireplace in the snug with a heatalator that I burn daily. I need to get the bushings replaced on the wood pellet stove, that throws out enough heat for the kitchen and the large addition, but the pellets aren't cheap. You know about keeping water tanks open in winter, another expense!
Hay is making me shudder and my hay guy gives me a break.
Val, I would probably have moved a couple of years ago if it weren't for my aging horses. There would be nothing to do with then but put them down. This place is a lot of work and expense!
We spent the summer in drought so hay production hasn't been good.
Far Side, I don't keep our house that warm, not just because of cost but it's too warm for us. My electric bill is higher in the winter not only because the furnace runs but I have three tank heaters in the outside water tanks. The electricity cost has stayed about the same. Do you remember about 10 years ago when propane went through the roof?
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