Jupiter

2017 Winter Storm Jupiter has come and gone thankfully without the predicted outcome. I'll be honest, I was nervous. I can't recall a recent time when I've gone more than a few hours without electricity and those times were during the summer. I wasn't anxious about being cold or having to prepare for work in the  dark. Not knowing what to expect, I prepared some. I started by doing all my laundry. Then I brought down the heavy down blankets and a wool quilt I picked up a few years ago at the Brownville Flea Market. It's very heavy and warm. 

 

I filled a few pitchers with water and made a pitcher of tea. I also gathered flashlights, candles, a phone charger and made certain I had food to eat that hadn't needed to be cooked. (Better food than shown was on hand.)

I put batteries in two radios and gathered up some lanterns (compliments to my father). 

 

And gathered up some reading material from the library (I also had plenty of books of my own). 

 

I covered the bird feeders with tinfoil in case they froze over and I couldn't open them. (I missed that temps were to rise into the 50's after the storm moved through.)

 

And I made plans to shelter in place and get lots done. Friday night I made a pistachio cake, strawberry/banana muffins and a taco braid. Saturday I completed a project I've been working on for a week and crossed off something that has been on my to-do list for months. Sunday I scooted around on my rump and up on a step ladder oiling (Old English) all the wood trim in the living and dining rooms. I actually felt bad for the wood. It was so dry. Here's one example, this is the door in the dining room that goes to the second floor. 

Before;

 

Getting there; 

 

After;

 

The curtain in the doorway was put up last fall. It's double layer. The cats love being upstairs, but I hate all my heat escaping up there, so the covering. The cats can push through and I keep the heat from rushing up the stairs. 

Monday I stayed in, made more strawberry banana muffins to freeze, cleaned house, tackled a few chores and came to realize my roof was leaking. Quite a bit!  Yikes! More on that at another time. 

I shared my baked goods with others. 

 

Stay tuned. Recipes and project posts coming soon.