More construction and harvests

I took off work a bit early, hoping to come home to get some work done. V had already been at work- I just can't stop that man- broken hand and all.

The northwest corner of the rumpus room.

I had to get the full effect.

A few bamboo sections.

Isn't it beautiful?!!

Of course, we can't start laying the floor yet. The subfloor still needs to be Tapcon screwed into the floor to provide a solid base. V is hoping to do that tomorrow but I'm not sure his hand will tolerate using the big drill that much so maybe I'll be busy after work. We also can't lay the floor yet because the wood needs to acclimate to the house. The problem is that the temperature and humidity in the shop where it has been stacked is vastly different than in the basement so we need to give it time to get used to it's new home before we put it down.

All the boxes of flooring, opened up and "breathing".

I think that once we start laying the floor that it will go pretty fast. We aren't doing any sort of complicated pattern and the room is a nice rectangle so I'm not too worried.

But, enough about construction, I've got more to report. I'm still harvesting from the garden!! In LATE October! Unbelievable.

Somebody stop me before I harvest again!

We're finally forecast for a killer freeze (into the 20's) later this week so I thought I'd see what I could find out there.

It's Monday and time that I usually do my Independence Days update. So, here goes:

1. Plant something- my male Kiwi finally arrived and I got it planted. J16 has named them Romeo and Juliette.

2. Harvest something- tomatoes, peppers, an eggplant, one amazing last cucumber and... wait for it... cauliflower and lettuce. If you're now scratching your head in amazement saying "but I thought she didn't do any fall garden planting" you're right. The cauliflower was a total fluke. It is from a shoot that came up from the roots of the one I planted this spring and formed a beautiful, fist-sized head. The lettuce is an even more amazing gift of nature. Very early this spring, I made a mini bed on the South side of the house, hoping that the sun exposure there would let me get an earlier start on a few leafy greens. I used some old seed and it really didn't do well. But, apparently, one went to seed and I was out and about the other weekend and discovered the section of the yard between the house and my flower bed is a mass of little oak-leaved lettuce. Look:

A 5 quart pail of lettuce and a few leaves of sorrel that is still going.

We're having home grown spaghetti sauce and salads from the garden tonight. Yum.

3. Preserve something- um. I think only my sanity. Oh, and my marriage- I'm not in jail for murdering my stubborn husband.

4. Waste not- I can't think of much to exciting here.

5. Want not- I stocked up at the store. They were having sales and coupons for things we actually use! Coffee, flour, sugar, butter, chocolate chips, canned tuna, frozen peas (mine didn't do much this year) and frozen french fries. I know, frozen fries aren't local or sustainable but they are a fairly quick addition to meals that I know the children will eat- well, except for K10 who doesn't like potatoes in any form.

6. Build community food systems. Nothing I can think of.

7. Eat the food- spaghetti and salads for dinner tonight. We will have one last fresh pepper feast for the week until the hot peppers are gone.

Well, gotta go make salads. J16 should be home from orchestra soon. Tonight is out late dinner night.