We are back in New Hampshire after a very busy week. Tuesday was moving day out of 611 South Reeve, our southern home of 11 years. We, in fact, had never seen it empty as we bought it furnished. It was rather nice to see it actually. I was pretty methodical about going from room to room to make sure we got everything out of the house and into the truck. Funny how you see things and don’t know that you are seeing them. I went through each room as we packed it up or emptied it and didn’t even see the waste baskets. I was so used to seeing them I didn’t see them. No worries, I packed them. I left it as clean as I could leave it even though I knew they were getting professional “deep” cleaners to come in after we moved out. It looked perfect when we left, even the garage. I was sad to say goodbye but on the other hand was ready to move on to our next adventure. The movers arrived as they said they would. The driver called 45 minutes before he got to us and he was there with one minute to spare. The packers arrived about an hour later and packed up the paintings and mirrors and “the boat” – that’s another story. It became apparent that they were very efficient and we were going to be able to be out of there much sooner than we thought. As a result we left at 2:00pm and drove up to Asheville for one more visit with Edie and her family.

Lulu’s Day Care

We were needed the following day for some babysitting because Edie had contracted a childhood virus that meant she couldn’t go to day care. She was past being contagious but was not allowed back so we had her for a day at Lulu’s Daycare. We picked her up at 8:30 and took her back to the hotel where we were staying. The fun thing is that the hotel is on the property where the Adventure Center is. They have a Zip Line that goes all the way through the property and there are wonderful walking paths for the dogs and obviously for Edie. We spent a good part of the morning following a group around the Zip Line route. All Edie could say was “more, more” every time someone came by us. I was as excited as she was. Such a fun thing to watch. You can see one of the platforms in the picture above.

Monday night before the movers came, John and I went out for a final dinner by ourselves. We went to one of our favorite restaurants in Beaufort, Saltus, and sat outside by the river and watched the sunset. It was the perfect last night before our departure. I am so glad it worked out that we could do that. We relaxed before the movers were to come, we had done all we could possibly do and we just enjoyed the evening. The food was over the top. I had a Mahi served on a bed of peppers and squash with goat cheese and ranch dressing. It was over the top delicious. The setting certainly made it even more special.

On The Road Again

Once we left Asheville we were not sure how far we were going to get but set our sights on Scranton. We found a place that would take dogs. I won’t mention the name of the place because it is not a place I will visit again but it worked for the one night. There was plenty of room to walk the dogs and we had a room with a slider that let us go outside. However, it was definitely not in very good shape and was not the sort of place I like to stay. The view of the river was gorgeous and I wish we could have sat outside and had our “lousy” pizza but unfortunately their heaters weren’t working and hadn’t been all summer. You get my drift.

Home Again

Tomorrow the moving van is going to arrive in New Hampshire. We have to move every single room in this house except one to accommodate the furniture. Suffice it to say it is a logistical nightmare. Which room gets moved first? We will empty one room and hopefully go from there. It’s just not a day at Jenny Lane if we are not moving furniture but I hope this is it for a little while anyway. Tomorrow’s events will be the source of next week’s letter. We are ready and it will all be fine.

Harvest

The garden is a disaster after a month of no one weeding. What we did today was harvest all the onions and leeks. What a crop we got out of it this year. In some ways the garden was a bust but the garlic and onions and leeks were terrific. We also had a good crop of carrots and beets and for awhile the cherry tomatoes. Unfortunately I think the deer have found our garden so we might have to rethink how we do things out there. We have enjoyed some harvest and will certainly keep trying. My favorite is the little cherry tomatoes.

Potato Leek Soup from The Pioneer Woman

Since we have leeks from the garden we are going to try Leek and Potato Soup. It is fall afterall. Here is a great recipe.

Ingredients
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 medium russet potatoes (about 2 1/4 lb.), peeled and chopped
3 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
3 celery stalks, chopped, plus yellow leaves for garnish (optional)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 c. chicken broth
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
3/4 tsp. ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 c. heavy cream, plus more for drizzling
Hot sauce and fried onions, optional
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Directions
In a medium Dutch oven, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the potatoes, leeks and celery. Cook, stirring, until the leeks are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Stir in the chicken broth, thyme sprigs, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove the thyme sprigs. Transfer about 4 cups of the soup to a blender. Remove the top insert from the lid and cover with a kitchen towel. Puree until smooth, 30 seconds. Add to Dutch oven with the remaining chunky soup. Stir in the cream and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until the soup is slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.
Season the soup with more salt and pepper. Garnish with celery leaves, hot sauce, prepared fried onions and another drizzle of heavy cream, if you like.