Puttering

The cold snap that was forecast is upon us.  This morning started out at 20 degrees and by supper time the temperature had fallen to 6 degrees.  As my joints are still protesting, I spent my day puttering.

I cleaned out the drawers in my desk.  It is amazing the stuff I found...stuff that I dropped into a drawer thinking I would find a home for it later but never did.  Does any sane person really need that many pens and pencils?  I doubt it!  I think I found enough of them to last the rest of my natural life.  And I found a bunch of other stuff that I had totally forgotten I had.  It was sort of like a treasure hunt without any treasure of real value.  Truth be told, it was more like an archaeological dig through a trash heap.

I sorted through some old photos and genealogy notes that had accumulated but hadn't as yet been filed or entered into my genealogy program.  I love reading the old letters and stories that I have collected over the years.  They give me a peek into what life was like in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  One told about a pair of boots that were made at home, using wooden pegs to attach the soles.  When one child outgrew the boots, they were passed on to the next in line.  They were so well made that they went through half a dozen kids and never did completely wear out.

Last fall when I turned 50 lbs of cranberries into juice and canned it, I had a quantity of what I call cranberry sludge left over from the process.  It is the skins and pulp that were left from straining the juice.  As I hate to waste anything, I had bagged it all up and tossed it into my freezer.  Last evening I got the bags out and laid them out to thaw.  Today I spread the sludge out on the fruit roll-up sheets for my dehydrators and dried it.  When it was crispy, I broke it up into small pieces and put it into quart jars.  Later I will run small batches of it through my little grinder and use the powder to flavor baked goods or mix with dried apple peels for a really good tea.

It has taken me a lot of years to own up to my limitations.  Not all that long ago I would probably have been ranting and raving because I am sidelined for a time.  And would have been irritated because I can't do what I would like.  I guess that sometimes a person just has to accept what is.  And spend a day or two just puttering.  Actually, it was kind of fun.