NOV’ 20

28

I am recovering from some fairly herculean efforts in the kitchen. The pie and ice cream reviews have been trickling in. All positive and glowing but...I still can't help but wonder if folks are just being nice. I have some really lovely friends. Plus, I am my harshest critic. I will say though that there were many technical successes this time around. And, I will give most of the credit to Erin Jeanne McDowell, who has a cookbook out now titled The Book on Pie. I watched all of her videos on how to make pie on the Food52 YouTube channel and learned so much.

Our Thanksgiving was a SUCCESS! Mulled cider was passed around. We all socialized with masks on and outdoors. The sun shone, which made things seem much warmer. My father-in-law brought a portable gas fire pit. Davis fried the turkey. We packed up containers of Thanksgiving food for everyone to take home. Willa had someone to play with. We video-called my family in San Francisco. I feel optimistic about the rest of the holiday season. I will also note that it was very nice to sit down to the actual meal just the three of us after all the hustle and bustle of the day and the excitement of being in the company of family and friends. It was still life-giving to gather- even if we couldn't feast together.

Yesterday, Davis and I cleaned the house from top to bottom. Polished all the appliances. Degreased the smoke hood. Wiped down the hard-to-reach open shelf. Wiped down baseboards. Moved out all rugs and furniture to vacuum and mop all the floors. Rotated the mattress. Wood polish on the cabinet fronts, bed frame, and buffet. Cleaned out cabinets and drawers. Dust mopped the walls for cobwebs. Cleaned windows inside and out. Wiped down sills and light fixtures. Laundered the small rugs and all of our usual laundry. The very last thing that I will do today is clean the inside of the oven. We also need to do a purge of material things. BUT, the house is in the best shape it has been in since we moved in after renovations. I have to say, it feels amazing. Willa helped out intermittently. She occupied herself for most of the day, which was an immense help. And, she participated in a park clean-up organized by the family next door. Willa reported finding a "frozen sock."

Aside from cleaning out the oven, I plan to start tackling the utility space downstairs and the apartment. The pantry area is a jumble and needs serious reorganization- possibly a cabinet, more efficient shelving, potentially a new chest freezer. It would be so nice to get that space squared away.