Everything sublime is as difficult as it is rare. Baruch Spinoza

Monday, November 17, 2025

Peaceful Day


Good day one and all. We have now returned to November weather. Mark has filled my woodbox, which makes me happy. The wood burns fast because it's softwood. We have a continuous supply of fallen trees so the wood is free, unless the effort put into cutting up trees is added in. 

With chilly weather comes my incessant photos of soup. Pasta from Italy is scheduled to be affected by tariffs, I believe, December 1st. All the pasta I use comes from Italy. I will need to fill the cupboards. I've already decided I'll make my own long pasta and ravioli, but not the short pasta. This is perhaps my favorite. Cavatoppi. It is a firm pasta which makes it very good for soups.



I have a few bags of apples from our ancient non-hybrid tree in the freezer that are more than two years old. They aren't freezer burned so I used a bag for an apple cake yesterday. A simple, pleasantly sweet joy, one I don't take for granted. That wonderful tree hasn't been producing apples for at least two years and this makes me sad.


As Monday is laundry day that's the big plan for today. Dora had posted about setting up a daily list, something I have done before and not followed through. My only planned day is Monday laundry. Not being busy makes it so easy to let things slide with the excuse that there is always time tomorrow. Tomorrows are seeming limited. I do know I must make bread today. We are down to the store variety. Oh, no!

28 comments:

nick said...

How absurd, slapping tariffs on Italian pasta. Making your own pasta is an excellent response.

Sandra said...

Who knows if it will actually happen, nick. One day it’s one thing and the next another. Stable genius, you know.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Apple something sounds really good! I just made a crockpot of chili to simmer until supper:)

CheerfulMonk said...

That's sad about your apple tree. And about the tariffs, who knows how that will go next. Good idea to be prepared to make your own.

Anvilcloud said...

I need to make a list to get things done, but I don’t have an overall daily plan. Meanwhile, our November weather is just wretched, cloudy windy, cold miserable

Jane said...

That apple cake sure looks good! I’m glad you could take the last apples from your tree and turn them into something special.

The Happy Whisk said...

That's one of my fave shapes too. I'm actually on the hunt for a KitchenAid noodle dye cutter and last week bought this little wooden thing for potato flour thingys.

Unrelated to prices, I just wanna get back to making my own again. It's so fun. And easy.

If you have a Grocery Outlet or and ALDI, I find good deals on noodles there.

Boud said...

Apple cake! Two lovely words. One of these days I'll get my pasta machine going again. It's been a while.

Lori Skoog said...

You are killing me with those food photos! I make an apple cake that looks like that....ummmm with walnuts. I don't know about you, but this is hibernation time for me. I never know what day I'm going to do laundry....Gary does his own.

Val Ewing said...

That all looks pretty good. I didn't do my laundry yesterday, I went out to play.
Your plates look delicious.
Though Olive, her hubby and the kids brought supper down Sunday evening and we had a great time with her delicious cooking!

Sandra said...

We are having chili weather, Far Side.

Sandra said...

It really is. It gave me apples for decades and it was old when we moved here. The apples are small and very good, so they are missed, Cheerful.

Sandra said...

You are having wretched weather, AC. I make the daily list the ignore it.

Sandra said...

I have a couple more bags in the freezer, Jane, so perhaps a pie. Mark LOVES pie.

Sandra said...

Yes, ALDI has some really good pasta at a great price. I used to make pasta often but I just fell away from it. I have a hand crank long pasta machine I need to pull out, Ivy.

Sandra said...

Mine got tucked away, too, Boud. It's such a simple thing to do I don't know why I stopped. Apples and baking, perhaps the best combination there is.

Sandra said...

It's hibernation time for me, too, Lori. Mark does not know how to operate these new-fangled appliances and I think he really doesn't want to learn!

Sandra said...

I endorse you getting out to play as much as possible, Lori! I'm so happy you and Olive became buddies.

Rita said...

I have lists every day. Have been a listmaker all my life. Started a bullet journal years ago which has simplified to what works for me over the years. Still love it and would be lost without it. Do I get everything done? Nope. But they get transferred so I don't forget.
My grandmother used to embroider kitchen towels with the daily cleaning tasks on them. I couldn't remember anything but Monday being wash day. Googled it! Monday (Wash Day), Tuesday (Iron Day), Wednesday (Mend Day), Thursday (Market Day), Friday (Clean Day), Saturday (Bake Day), Sunday (Rest Day)

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Soup making is a regular occurrence here and so far it's been made on the stove and not in the crockpot, but I may switch over to using that appliance later in the season. Cavatoppi pasta is also good for mac & cheese.

The Happy Whisk said...

Same. I have a hand crank that was my grandmas. Very cool. Though I'm looking for dye cut, if that's the right word.

Tonight we had Barilla Protein noodles and those are from the USA however, USA and imported ingredients so not sure about the prices of those. This particular brand and line is higher than anything I've seen at ALDI. However, goes on sale often enough.

Mocha said...

This post felt so cozy! 🍎🔥 That’s the sweetest way to spend a chilly day. Sending warm, peaceful vibes your way.

Sandra said...

Well, at least there's one day of rest in there, Rita! I need to break-up my cleaning days, sort of room-by-room.

Sandra said...

I've never used a crockpot for soup, Dorothy. They are a handy tool. I need to get more stock out of the freezer, soup makes coming up with lunch so much easier.

Sandra said...

Thank you, Mocha. Baking sweets then eating them, can't get better than that.

Sandra said...

I like Italian pasts because Italy is struck on chemicals in grains.

The Happy Whisk said...

What does struck mean? Oh... wait, strict? That's good. Hopefully you can stock up on what you fancy.

Sandra said...

I should look before I post, Ivy!