Back and forth has been the way of this week. We headed back up to Canada at the beginning of the week to pack up our things as we move out of that house for the winter. We worked hard for three days and were able to pack almost everything into the car. We did have the dogs with us so couldn’t bring everything with us at once. This meant a return trip to get the last things we needed and to ready the house for our friends who are moving in this coming week. It went like this, up to Canada on Monday, back to New Hampshire Thursday, back to Canada Saturday and finally back to New Hampshire on Sunday. We said goodbye to our friends and a see you next summer wave out the window and we were gone.

If you had told me back in April when we were packing up to leave South Carolina for our northern home that I would A) buy a house in New Hampshire and B) Rent our house in South Carolina and C) Rent our house in Canada I would not have believed it to be possible. Well it is and this week we are closing on our project house in New Hampshire. The house has been lived in for over 25 years by one family, built in the 50’s and very definitely in need of a make over. We got to see the inside of the house this past week without anything in it. When we had visited at other times it was full to the brim with so much stuff you almost couldn’t get a handle on what you were looking at. It needs a lot of TLC. So over the next year we will be working on this project to fix up the house. Maybe I should say over the next four or five years because I do think it will take us quite a long time to get this project done. One little room at a time is our new mantra.

We have accomplished a great deal already with many meetings with contractors, painters, a kitchen designer, a cleaning company, a dumpster company and on and on it goes. Yes we are overwhelmed but not disheartened. So far everyone except for one of the contractor/handy man who came who just depressed us but otherwise it all has gone pretty well. We have people coming this week after the closing to install first off, the Invisible Fence so that the dogs can go with us and be safe. There is a lovely big wooded lot that the house sits on but it also has two sides that are on the street. Both are dead ends but cars and trucks do travel there during the day. Also the flooring person will come and hopefully give us an idea about what we can do about the floors. To say the carpets must go is another understatement. Anyway, this may be week 39 in the year but it is Week 1 in our Project Jenny Lane. Stay tuned.

I was happy to get out most every day this week and get a good walk in with the dogs. I stuck pretty much to the Northern Rail Trail but varied off into the woods and the ski hill around Proctor Academy. I am familiar with the area there as I worked at Proctor for nine years before retiring the first time. The fall colors are really starting to pick up which makes it a very pretty walk. However, the weather was unusually warm so it didn’t feel very fall-like. The dogs loved their walks and even got in the river to swim quite a few times.

Also found a very interesting recipe to try this week. It is a combination of scalloped potatoes and shepherd’s pie. We tried it and absolutely loved it.

Gratin Parmentier Recipe from Healthy Holistic Living

Ingredients
For the béchamel sauce:
5 tablespoons of butter
4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
4 cups of milk
2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

For the dish:
3 potatoes, peeled and boiled
1 white onion
package of ground beef
a teaspoon of chopped parsley
pinch of paprika
large bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
salt
pepper

Directions:
Make the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and stir until it is fully incorporated and smooth. Continue to cook the flour and butter mixture until it is a light golden color, about six or seven minutes.

While cooking the flour and butter mixture, heat the milk in a separate pan. Bring it almost to a boil. Add the heated milk one cup at a time to the pan with the flour and butter, whisking to incorporate. Continually whisk the mixture until it is smooth. When the milk is entirely incorporated, bring it to a boil and cook it for ten minutes, stirring constantly. Season with salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Peel three potatoes. Boil them for seven minutes or until they’re semi-soft. Drain the water and cut the potatoes into ¼-inch slides. Arrange the slices to cover the bottom of a glass baking dish. Then, arrange a layer of potato slices around the sides of the dish.

In a large bowl, combine the beef, parsley, and paprika. Season with salt and pepper. With your hands, form ice cream scoop-sized meatballs. You should be able to make about 15 meatballs. Place the meatballs in a single layer on top of the potato slices in the glass dish.

Place the remaining potato slices standing up around the meatballs. Each meatball should have its own compartment and be surrounded by potato slices on four sides.

Pour the béchamel sauce into each compartment until it is full. Spread a thin layer of mozzarella cheese over the entire dish.

Bake the dish for 15 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy! (I baked it for 30 minutes)