Flooding Surprise

Our adventure began in the middle of the night, when I saw flashing lights in the bedroom.  They had closed Prentice Street because of flooding, but that happens with many heavy rains.  I woke again around 2 and got up to investigate.  By then the rental car was flooded and the lights were on and the horn was beeping.  I was able to get it to stop beeping, but the lights stayed on, and that was that. . . 

Here, at 3AM, you can see the truck because the rental's lights won't go out.

Around 3, D moved his truck, which was not really happy, farther up the street.  The driveway with the car is a little higher, so we kept fingers crossed.  We did get water on the floorboards, but it seems ok, so far.

 The well-dressed problem solver - D had these waders in the closet, so he was ready to go.

More than a dozen houses on our block and two nearby blocks have flooded basements.

Well, NYSEG came out (at our request) to shut off the gas.  Since the furnace and hot water heater were under water, that seemed like a good idea.  Then we called the fire department to see if we could get pumped out.  Turns out they were already on our street - probably a dozen of us needed pumping.  While they were there, NYSEG came out and shut off the power to our house - probably a good idea, but it meant using my oxygen tanks instead of an electric concentrator.  And it meant that our two sump-pumps could not supplement the fire department pumps.   The house was getting cold (the winds are fierce!) and we decided to get a hotel room.  Alas, Tommy could not come with us, but we're at Fred's, so D or I can go back and forth to deal with Tommy.

This photo was taken mid-morning, after the water had dropped 18 inches.

Being optimists, we have an appointment with an electrician at 10AM to have him check the wiring.  However, since the river at Sherburne https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=bgm&gage=shbn6 has just barely dropped below "moderate flooding" stage, and is not projected to be below flood stage until Saturday evening, and that has to get to Norwich, I doubt that the pump will have it done by morning.

UPDATE:  Rather than leave a generator unattended, the fire department plans to turn it off tonight and return tomorrow with a bigger generator.

We have touched base with Morse Plumbing, and we will probably have them put a new furnace in the house or the attic.  But we do have electric space heaters, and the house is fairly tight, so if we get electricity we should be fine (with showers at the Y).

And, of course, today would be the day that the oxygen regulator on my tank would fail.  Fortunately, I had a back-up one left from our Baltimore adventure, but I really scared myself simple until we located it and replaced it.  And it was also fortunate that I had all my packing lists from the Baltimore trip, so I didn't have to think much!

There's no place like home!

Thank  you for your offers of help, support, and encouragement! I think we'll be ok.  I'm a little loopy with no sleep after 2am, but other than that, we're hanging in there.   Time for a nap!

USA Pan - Muffin Tin

USA Pan - Muffin Tin

            Time to get a new pan!

I love a good muffin, but I have a couple of problems with making them.

Number 1:  

          I hate washing the muffin tins.  It takes forever and it's annoying.  

                   There are too many nooks and places that need serious scrubbing.  

Number 2:  

     I hate using cupcake liners.

     I resent the waste of money on paper throw-aways.

     I hate that half the muffin ends up stuck to the paper.  (Sigh!)

I did a search for "best muffin tin" and USA Pan was highly rated.  I found it on Amazon.  93% of the ratings were 5 Star.  It's kind of expensive - approaching $20, and I wanted two.   It was quite a debate, but since I had been really stalling on making muffins, we decided to splurge.

They arrived October 1, and in the 11 days since delivery, I have used it four times.  (This is a baking record for me!)

The first test was America's Test Kitchen sticky buns.

I may have taken it out of the pan too soon.

Then I made Raised Rich Rolls into cloverleaf and pull-apart rolls.

I have a lot to learn about consistency.  (That has nothing to do with the pan!!!)

The rolls were delicious!

During the summer I made two-cup freezer bags of red currants, so they are ready to go whenever I want them.  I made The Joy of Baking Buttermilk Berry muffins.  To this recipe I also added 1 cup grated Grimes Golden apple.

These were excellent!  

The addition of the apple made them moist and delicious!

Today's bake was Bon Appetit's Lemon Pound Cake.  I had made it before in my Nordic Ware mini bundt pan.  The bundt pan makes beautiful cakes, but it takes forever to get butter in every nook and cranny.  Then the wash-up takes forever as crumbs stick everywhere! 

Beautiful cakes, but enough extra work that it does not get made often!

So I tried the same recipe, cupcake style, in my new USA Muffin Tin.

We like small bites. The recipe could make 12 (not the 24 I made).

 Check out the pan - you see drips from the glaze, and a few crumbs.  Wash-up will be a breeze with a soapy sponge.  You must not use a dish-washer, which is good, since I don't have one!

I am just tickled with my new pans!

Gotta Love Varmints

The first year of out strawberry patch has been great!
We have been enjoying strawberries all summer - about a pint a week of the marvelous Mara Des Bois berries.

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I posted in June about protecting the berries from birds, squirrels, etc.  June Planting

It was very effective, and in August we decided they patch was safe and removed the protection to make it easier to weed and pick.  We also removed the cover for another reason.   A nest of ground bees had been built at the edge of the garden, next to the driveway.  We did pick early in the morning when they were sleepy and dopey, but, just in case, we did not want to get tangled in wire and netting if we had to make a quick getaway.  We also only picked at the ends of the bed, leaving some lovely berries that we felt were too close to the nest.  We also abandoned weeding, since pulling weeds seemed to wake them up!

It began to look like our berry patch would end after this first year.

Check out the size of that hole!

We went out yesterday to gather as many berries as we dared to before 7am.  We started at each end, and as we approached the center, where the nest is, it occurred to us that we were not seeing bees!

Then we noticed that the hole, which is usually hidden by weeds was clearly visible.

Then we saw bits of honeycomb in the garden.

Hooray for the varmints!  We are guessing that some critter found the nest and pulled it apart, and enjoyed his/her snack.  Our first guess was skunk, but, although they are around, we have not smelled them.  A quick google search suggests it could be a raccoon.

Whatever it was, it did not eat berries.

But we did.

Fresh Tomato Sauce - Summer's Gift`

We had our very favorite dinner tonight.  Simple, easy, quick, and spectacularly delicious.

Fresh tomato sauce on buttered linguini.

This is a no-cook sauce.  Early in the day, chop heirloom tomatoes, garlic, basil, and add olive oil and allow the flavors to meld.  (We used two tomatoes - Bloody Butcher and Cherokee Purple.  Both are high acid, compared to supermarket tomatoes.  If I did not have an acid tomato, I might add balsamic vinegar.)  I don't refrigerate it at this point.  The garlic was pulled last month, so it's quite pungent and fresh.  The smell is fantastic!

A favorite pasta is Barilla Linguini Fini - it's a bit thinner than regular linguini, but thicker than angel hair pasta.  When the pasta has cooked to the right texture (not too al dente. . . ), toss with butter (about two tablespoons for 1/4 pound of dry pasta).    At the table add the fresh sauce and serve with a good cheddar cheese (We like Cabot Seriously Sharp.).

All gone.

Instacart - A Cautionary Tale

Instacart has come to our town.

This is a grocery shopping service.  You place your order online from your local stores, and Instacart picks and delivers it and charges your credit card.  When you place your order there is a hold on your credit card of the estimated amount plus a bit to cover eventualities, like more grapes in a bag than was estimated.  That hold is returned and the correct amount is charged after completion of the order.

When Instacart came to town, they offered one month with no service fee for delivery.  We decided to try it to see if it were something that would be useful "in the future". 

But - and there is always a but, isn't there - caveat emptor.

There are some things to be aware of. 
Some stores charge more per item than if you shopped in the store.  Aldi's adds about 10% to each item.
The picker can make mistakes.  One picker grabbed the organic blueberries at $5.69 instead of the sale blueberries at $1.49.  I ate that one.  One picker grabbed an item that was out-of-code and actually looked bad (it was).  Instagram refunded the cost of the item.  One picker substituted Swiss Cheese brands.  The dog enjoys the new one.
The store may not honor the sales prices shown in the flier.  Aldi's does not include the sale prices and does not include the Aldi's Finds.  Tops does honor sale prices.  Price Chopper has honored them in the past.
Instagram may change the prices in the middle.  Here's where I got ripped off.  When I placed items in my cart on Thursday, Pepsi was on sale at $1.99.  Somehow that changed. Because I knew what the prices were in my "cart",  I, foolishly, did not carefully look at the price on Saturday when I finished placing my order.  By the time it was delivered, the Pepsi had become $4.99 on Instacart.  The PICS butter had changed from $2.49 to $2.99.  I lost $24.50 and probably a couple of hours of back and forth emails on this shopping experience. 

For me, I have decided to keep the service - I did pay for one-year of membership to get free delivery. 
I am less likely to use it for Aldi's, because I resent the 10%.  If something is still cheaper there with the 10%, I may still get it.  I am more careful now.
I will take screenshots of my orders.  (I had done a copy/paste, but that doesn't show prices.)
I will scrutinize the bill again and again before I authorize it - don't trust that they did not change it.
I will probably only use it in winter or when I am feeling exceptionally lazy.  It may not be worth the expense and hassle at other times.

Bottom line - there are definitely benefits - but I must weigh the drawbacks.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here is the documentation for the latest frustration.

This is the weekly ad:

Note that Pepsi is $1.99.  Also, note that the Pepsi is right next to "We Deliver" and "Instacart"


This is my Instacart bill, showing $4.99 each, as charged to my credit card:

Your order was placed on August 17th and delivered August 17th at 1:17 PM from Price Chopper

Review Tip and Rating

11 Items Delivered

PRICE CHOPPER	11
DAIRY & EGGS
Cabot Creamery Seriously Sharp Cheddar Cheese (2 lb)  1 x $9.99 $9.99
PICS by Price Chopper Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter Quarters(4 each)  1 x $3.49 $3.49
BEVERAGES
Diet Pepsi Soda Cola (6 x 6 x 16.9 fl oz)  6 x $4.99 $29.94
Pepsi Cherry Cola Soda (6 x 6 x 16.9 fl oz)  2 x $4.99 $9.98

This is the receipt from Price Chopper showing that Price Chopper charged $1.99 for the Pepsi and $1.27 sales tax.  (My Instacart bill shows $4.99 for the Pepsi and $3.20 for the sales tax.)



Somebody got ripped off!  Was it Instacart?  Price Chopper?  Me?

Strawberries - 2019 Edition

We loved having fresh good strawberries, and now that we have our little house, we decided we missed them enough that D made a bed beside the driveway and ordered 50 plants of Mara Des Bois.  We planted 35 and gave 15 to the neighbor across the street who loves to garden.

Even though we live in the "city," we have deer, woodchucks, skunk, squirrels, chipmunks, and lots of birds.  And these guys all love strawberries (well, maybe not the deer - they love apple trees).  To protect the plants from predators,  an arch of fencing was put over them, and when the berries began to appear, plastic mesh was put over the arch.

We were able to protect the bed from the mammals and all but one bird.

Alas, it looks like slugs like strawberries.

Time for "Sluggo".

So far, we have picked 17 strawberries.

Lunch Meat???

We love corned beef and pastrami.  Well, we used to love it.  Recently (like the last 10 years or so), the corned beef is only salty leather, and the pastrami has no fat.  Huh???  No fat???

Then  I found that Katz Deli in NYC (of the "I'll have what she's having," fame) ships!!!  So for a treat, we ordered a whole pastrami.  "Meat Size Katz's Legend Size (5.3-6lbs)" It arrrived when scheduled, packed with dry-ice.  You have to cook the whole one by boiling for three hours. The cooked weight was about 4 pounds.

We simmered very slowly, keeping the temperature of the water below 212º

Oh, boy, is it good!  Nothing like you buy in the supermarket deli.  What a treat!

I bought some things in our local markets:  half-sour pickles, marble rye bread, seeded rye bread, and sauerkraut.  I ordered Swiss Cheese from Katz. but it's not great.  (I still haven't found a swiss cheese I like, so that's a matter for another day.)

Becky told me that Junior's Cheesecake is available in PriceChopper, and it's almost as good as hers.  When I picked up the rye bread, I picked up a 1.5 pound cheesecake (from the freezer section).

Oh, my.  She's right.  It's excellent.  (I can't imagine how good hers is. . . )

I licked the platter clean. . . 

Hope you had as good a meal. . .