Two years ago, we didn’t order enough cedar siding to cover the addition to the renovated house. The new fascia seemed to use way more than expected. So when we bought siding for the new bunkie, we included extra boards on the order to finish the main house. We still didn’t order enough.

Not only did we not order enough to finish the house, there wasn’t enough to finish the bunkie either…. So we ordered more this month and it arrived this week. As you might imagine, winter is a great time of year to be outside hammering siding onto your house or bunkie.

If you can do it on the coldest day of the year, even better. On the upside, we don’t have to look at the horrid black paper on the wall of the guest room any more. The down side is that we have to wait to put on the stain until it is at least ten degrees outside or it will just glop.. (that is a word, look it up)

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We ordered forty more ten foot boards and it took sixteen of them to finish the house.. Apparently when you order lumber from this particular mill in the winter time they are either in the Christmas spirit of giving or just plain generous in nature because very few of the boards were ten feet. Most were twelve and there were a few thirteen and fourteen feet long. Beautiful cedar. Surely to goodness it will be enough to finish the siding and fascia on the bunkie and maybe a propane shed or well house too.

As we speak I am roasting pumpkin. Cold weather means it’s time for pumpkin spice muffins or bread or anything pumpkiny at all, really, to be cooking in my kitchen. We opened up the small salmon river pink pumpkins but they hadn’t kept well. I should have used them first in October. Then we cracked open the Cinderella pumpkin and it is gorgeous. Thick meaty insides which will make for lots of puree for baking. I roasted them at 400 degrees for 40 min. When they are cool, I will take the skins off and put the insides through the food mill a couple of times. It will then sit in a colander and drain for a bit before I freeze it for future baking treats. Yummy stuff. I may just turn my whole vegetable garden next summer into a Cinderella Patch.

I know what you are saying. “Nice pumpkin but what’s with all of the empty wine bottles? I thought you weren’t drinking these days?”

We dug out the bottles from the back of the studio which we used when we made homemade wine in 2014. I have been washing and sterilizing all seventy eight of them this week before we bottle more wine in town this month.

Maybe E should be using any extra cedar siding to make me

a wine cellar.