hello, phew, it's been a busy few weeks!
I've been harvesting honey, cooking and storing food like crazy, and cleaning cleaning cleaning.
so I've been living here for the last few months with at least two roommates, sometimes more. one of my roommates is returning to school in Wisconsin at the end of the month, and my other roommate just let me know that he's moving, home to Minnesota, as well. so this is a bit of a strange time for me. while I delight in the prospect of dancing in the living room to Doc Watson and Kanye West (not simultaneously), while a pot of food cooks on the stove, with my little doggies at my feet, the reality is I cannot afford to live here by myself. so rather than search for two new roommates, which I did for maybe one day before coming to the next conclusion, I'm going to be offering their rooms on AirBnb. we had hosted before with much success, but doing it by myself is pretty daunting. not to mention, they're both leaving as I switch the utility bills into my name, which comes with hefty deposits. I certainly can't pay for two additional rooms, as well as a full share of the gas, electric, and internet bills, so... here I am. I'm equal parts anticipatory, excited, worried, hopeful, and anxious. that's a lot of parts.
I spent the whole day yesterday, early morning to late night, moving junk out of the loft. when you're doing this kind of thing, up and down five flights of fire escape and stairs, you learn an awful lot. I learned that I should smoke a little bit less, but I'm also actually in pretty good shape. so there's that. I also learned that there's no reason, ever, to have a dozen or more cooking pans. what in the world?? as people move in and out of this place, they tend to leave a lot behind (see previous on 4-5 flights of stairs). I expanded my shop area, so that's cool -- more room for tools, canning jars, drying herbs, etc. I brewed a fresh batch of kombucha, swept and vacuumed, painted the kitchen, torn down walls and put up shelves.
work work work.
but... I think it might be great. I've already got the room booked for a couple days in September. here's to hoping. if you're from outside of Chicago, and interested in staying here, here's the listing. the pictures are from last Summer. until my roommate leaves, I can't get in there to paint and decorate, but updates are coming, that's for sure.
I've started canning, and that's been fun! I haven't got much, so far four jars of tomatoes, and three jars of pickles. I'm also using my roommate's Food Saver as much as he'll allow me before he leaves, so I've got bread, corn, onions, peppers, pasta sauce, beans, blueberries, sour cherries, and soon some melon stored up for the coming months.
I was able to get some seeds from my cilantro plant, and I also recently came home with a huge bundle of Queen Anne's Lace. I separated the roots, leaves, and flowers for tea, garnish, and jelly, respectively. I've been learning so much about herbalism the last few weeks, I'm almost overwhelmed with the information. every plant I pass, and every vegetable skin/husk I nearly discard, has to first go through the "______ medicinal" Google search. it's incredible how many uses there are for things that most people would throw away, and I would typically just chuck into the compost bucket.
today I'm making a chicken soup with sweet corn and roasted tomatillos -- it smells so good! I threw in some of the Queen Anne's Lace leaves, and a few mushrooms. it seems like more of a rainy day food, so with any luck I'll get some of that tonight to align with my food and my mood. I've been canning, cooking, and storing up food since around 9am, so after a good six hours of that, I'm ready to relax.
it's been a weird weekend, watching my former hometown (of my teen years) in absolute turmoil, thanks to lack of mature conversation, and white supremacist assholes. I've felt so sad, and helpless, watching this happen on the streets where I have so many good memories with my friends. it's sad for all of us, it's hitting me with distinct difficulty.
so, that being said... I'm off to do that relaxing thing I spoke of. I'll probably just clean more, and paint the parts of the kitchen that I missed the other night, and eat a bunch of food... but that sounds pretty relaxing, to me.
I've been harvesting honey, cooking and storing food like crazy, and cleaning cleaning cleaning.
so I've been living here for the last few months with at least two roommates, sometimes more. one of my roommates is returning to school in Wisconsin at the end of the month, and my other roommate just let me know that he's moving, home to Minnesota, as well. so this is a bit of a strange time for me. while I delight in the prospect of dancing in the living room to Doc Watson and Kanye West (not simultaneously), while a pot of food cooks on the stove, with my little doggies at my feet, the reality is I cannot afford to live here by myself. so rather than search for two new roommates, which I did for maybe one day before coming to the next conclusion, I'm going to be offering their rooms on AirBnb. we had hosted before with much success, but doing it by myself is pretty daunting. not to mention, they're both leaving as I switch the utility bills into my name, which comes with hefty deposits. I certainly can't pay for two additional rooms, as well as a full share of the gas, electric, and internet bills, so... here I am. I'm equal parts anticipatory, excited, worried, hopeful, and anxious. that's a lot of parts.
I spent the whole day yesterday, early morning to late night, moving junk out of the loft. when you're doing this kind of thing, up and down five flights of fire escape and stairs, you learn an awful lot. I learned that I should smoke a little bit less, but I'm also actually in pretty good shape. so there's that. I also learned that there's no reason, ever, to have a dozen or more cooking pans. what in the world?? as people move in and out of this place, they tend to leave a lot behind (see previous on 4-5 flights of stairs). I expanded my shop area, so that's cool -- more room for tools, canning jars, drying herbs, etc. I brewed a fresh batch of kombucha, swept and vacuumed, painted the kitchen, torn down walls and put up shelves.
 |
| more space = more junk! |
 |
| I use this rack for drying flowers, herbs, candles, and various medicinal items |
work work work.
but... I think it might be great. I've already got the room booked for a couple days in September. here's to hoping. if you're from outside of Chicago, and interested in staying here, here's the listing. the pictures are from last Summer. until my roommate leaves, I can't get in there to paint and decorate, but updates are coming, that's for sure.
I've started canning, and that's been fun! I haven't got much, so far four jars of tomatoes, and three jars of pickles. I'm also using my roommate's Food Saver as much as he'll allow me before he leaves, so I've got bread, corn, onions, peppers, pasta sauce, beans, blueberries, sour cherries, and soon some melon stored up for the coming months.
I was able to get some seeds from my cilantro plant, and I also recently came home with a huge bundle of Queen Anne's Lace. I separated the roots, leaves, and flowers for tea, garnish, and jelly, respectively. I've been learning so much about herbalism the last few weeks, I'm almost overwhelmed with the information. every plant I pass, and every vegetable skin/husk I nearly discard, has to first go through the "______ medicinal" Google search. it's incredible how many uses there are for things that most people would throw away, and I would typically just chuck into the compost bucket.
 |
| my mother pointed out that it appears I have "foraged" a disembodied leg |
today I'm making a chicken soup with sweet corn and roasted tomatillos -- it smells so good! I threw in some of the Queen Anne's Lace leaves, and a few mushrooms. it seems like more of a rainy day food, so with any luck I'll get some of that tonight to align with my food and my mood. I've been canning, cooking, and storing up food since around 9am, so after a good six hours of that, I'm ready to relax.
 |
| soup! |
it's been a weird weekend, watching my former hometown (of my teen years) in absolute turmoil, thanks to lack of mature conversation, and white supremacist assholes. I've felt so sad, and helpless, watching this happen on the streets where I have so many good memories with my friends. it's sad for all of us, it's hitting me with distinct difficulty.
so, that being said... I'm off to do that relaxing thing I spoke of. I'll probably just clean more, and paint the parts of the kitchen that I missed the other night, and eat a bunch of food... but that sounds pretty relaxing, to me.
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