Category Archives: home improvements

Home Economics – –

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Jack gets there on time again – woohoo!

Sometimes we can be really stupid!

A couple of days ago Wendy went to re-heat her coffee in the microwave oven. Alas, when she pressed the button she heard a ‘phut’ and it died. We both tried various things including un-plugging it and re-plugging it. Still nothing. Our trusty microwave was dead.

The original one with the dead outlet behind!

So we debated at length about the next strategy, because what American household will last long without its favorite coffee reheater? We checked out models on Amazon and various regional box stores, and eventually decided she should see what the local Walmart had in stock. We could get a cheap one there to keep us going and maybe later get a better one via Amazon.

She hadn’t been out of the house for ten days because of a bad cold, etc. (not Covid, test was negative!) so she was gone for some time enjoying a little retail therapy. I don’t worry too much about Wendy’s retail therapy sessions because they tend to center around cheap stuff we will for the most part use. Mostly.

This time she eventually came home with—along with a half-price pack of underwear for me, a clearance scented candle for her, yarn (I pretended not to notice) and assorted bags of “I am going to can this” reduced produce items—a $60 microwave oven.

We man-handled (actually man-and-woman-handled) the defunct machine off the shelf and I got the new one up and plugged it in. Went to set the clock. Nothing happened. I looked for an on button to no avail then read the instruction booklet, but still no information.

Finally, in desperation I plugged it into a different outlet and it immediately lit up.

Hhhmmm – so I cleaned the original microwave thoroughly and got it up on the shelf and plugged it into the alternative outlet and bingo! It lit up – –

So we now have a cheap oven for Wendy’s upstairs office and I have the task of investigating the outlet – or maybe our good friend Leroy-the-Electrician will have to be called yet again. Wendy says the idea of me taking on electricity during a COVID surge that limits emergency room services and might require running a gauntlet is, to use her word, frightening.

Neither of us is interested in going back to Walmart this month: Wendy because her sniffles have returned, me because, scented candles, clearance underwear, yarn….

Fruitful Dividends – –

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Jack creeps over the line just in time for the Wednesday guest post – –

Back when Wendy and I were first married we lived in a very small rural village in Scotland. We were surrounded by the ‘fruits of the land’ – wild raspberries, blackberries, elderberries, apples etc. So I got into making wine, some of which was tasty and some not so much. All I had was a book, a carboy, a bucket and an airlock! The best was elderflower and rice but there were others that turned out pretty well too.

Now that we’re again living in a rural area and with lots of stuff growing in our backyard it was time to get back to wine making.

But it had been so long that I struggled to remember the process. I knew I needed the aforementioned carboy, bucket and airlock, so we got that and various other bits and pieces.

I started with left over juices from the fridge that had gathered over time, put them in the bucket with sugar in water and some baker’s yeast. But nothing much happened, so I consulted with my friend and wine expert Beth and she pointed me to a source of specialist wine yeast and it was duly ordered. That didn’t make much difference so it was time to consult Dr Google and it looked like temperature might be the problem. In the end I just racked it into the carboy and hoped for the best.

Meantime I started another batch with homemade apple butter, firethorn berry juice and banana. Now that brought back memories as it started frothing and bubbling! So I combined the two in our bigger carboy and it’s bubbling just like I remember.

In a few months we might have a palatable rose – – –