Food planning, the weekend, conference

Mama and I began combing through our kitchen countertop appliances the other day to see what we could get rid of. The impetus for the reduction was twofold. First, to see if we could clear out some space in the chef’s pantry – which is far too cluttered and second, to make room for a potential purchase of a countertop grill we used at Granny’s house. We really loved the grill, and it is something Mama and Victoria will use far more than the pellet grill I alone seem to be able to man.

But, as we looked at what could be discarded and who we could potentially give the small appliances to, we began to think about the fruit and vegetables we will soon be harvesting from the garden as well as the seasonal fruits and vegetables we will have access to in stores this time of year. All the fruits and vegetables are highly perishable, and many do not lend themselves to being frozen as a means of preserving them. I am not necessarily interested in canning because it is a lot of work and Mama and I have had limited success with that method of preserving foods.

So, we looked at dehydrators to see if the price is something we could reasonably afford. We were surprised to find that there are many models we could choose from and had only to settle on size and price range. Also, with the greens Mama is clipping from our kale and spinach plants we needed a better way to clean and rinse the leaves than what we currently have access to. Between those two needs arose the question of purchasing a vacuum sealer. A good friend of ours told us recently that she will never be without one. She uses it in some clever ways that make it seem even more practical than Mama and I had imagined.

The bottom line is that we were able to divest ourselves of two small appliances but have managed to replace that downsized accumulation by buying two more small appliances to fill the emptied spots in our chef’s pantry. It appears beating back the clutter in our lives is a battle I am destined to lose, but I rest in the consolation that the two new appliances will be far more useful that the three we have rehomed. Time will tell.

In the same vein of reasoning, thought we rehomed four goats, we are vastly expanding our chicken population. Mama is purchasing chicks from a feed store in Bowie as well as buying hens and chicks from Nancy. Our total chicken population will increase today by more than two dozen. That will be easy enough to manage as far as accommodating a larger flock, however, the challenge comes in separating the much smaller chicks from the larger chicks which still need to be separated for several weeks from the mature hens and roosters. So far, we have made our three coop areas and the Banty house work, but it has taken some imaginative planning to pull off the initial integration of the various new chickens into our flock due to their different sizes. I am afraid that when the time comes that Mama will truly have to downsize, the exercise will be incredibly painful for her. We have not had to walk that road yet. Quite the opposite.

Dropping off goats to the stock sale, servicing and potentially splitting beehives, cleaning the coops, continuing cleaning up around our property will be the majority of the listed chores for tomorrow. I will also have to give some thought to making sure Mama is set up for the first part of next week since I will be working very long days Monday through Wednesday. I certainly will not be able to help with the feeding either morning or evening on any of those days because of travel required for work and will possibly be in a hotel room Sunday night through the duration of our conference which ends late Wednesday evening. Whether I make the commute every morning but Monday – I have a hotel room set aside for Sunday night – I will not be home for either of the feeding times for the first three days of next week.  

Through the end of May, we, as a company, will be working remotely. Due to our exposure potential in the three-day conference we will be hosting, and the increased number of reported COVID cases in our area, the office is being closed for the remainder of the month. That actually works out to be a little bit of a reward for the work that will have been put into the conference. Three days of very early starts and very late finishes will prove quite taxing to our employees.

My schedule will not be affected, but I will at least not have to report to the office in days when I do not have a class to teach.