Our town celebrates Halloween on the Sunday before the 31st. They close down the main street and the shops stay open for trick or treaters. There are lots and lots of events but before the neighborhood children head up to town they stop by to see us and show us their costumes. We had a wonderful turnout before they all headed off. We were expecting rain so we put up the tent then got ourselves pulled together. Jack joined us this year as “the shark” which was really fun. The tent made it a bit more festive as well. Two of our neighbors joined us on the corner and two others stopped by for a visit, and we all declared it was a fun time for us as well. The winners were “The Who” family or maybe it was “The Barbies” or maybe ?? Parents and children dressed in costume. So fun.

A Little Eye Surgery

On Monday John had a little eye surgery. He had been having a problem with his eye for some months and it was determined that he need some corrective surgery on the lower lid. They reattached a muscle that holds the eyelid from curling into the eye and causing irritation. It looked pretty good and he is healing up fast. Not able to do any heavy lifting for two weeks which has something to do with the two cords of wood that were delivered that night. He couldn’t help stack it. Now, almost a week later, he looks much better and feels pretty good.

Walking The Dogs

After a couple of our walks this week we stopped to see our friend Sky. The dogs were thirsty after their run and their romp with Sky so they took to the little pool to get some water. We had some terrific walks on the Rail Trail as well as The Morris Trail at Colby-Sawyer. The weather was glorious, up in the 70’s almost every day until Sunday. Now it is much more fall like and somebody said they saw a snowflake or two.

Update on Jenny Lane

The sub-flooring is in the bathroom and all the waterproofing is in the shower and sealed up tight. The guys built the wall this week so we now have a better sense of the size of things. It takes quite awhile to put all this together and make sure that it is waterproof where it needs to be. This coming week there are plans to get the heat and the tile installed. It is good to finally see some progress at last. That pipe in the shower will be cut off at floor level. When I first saw it I was a little confused.

The Wood Pile

On Monday night we had two cords of seasoned firewood delivered. We were all a little overwhelmed by the size of the pile and the task in front of us to stack it in the wood shed. With John out of commission and Katie working it was left pretty much to Jack and me to tackle this mountain of wood. We decided on Friday as the day and started at about 10am. We got a pretty good rhythm going and had made quite a dent in it by lunch time. John took some pictures and supervised us from the safety of one of the green chairs. Katie was working from home and her desk looks out on the wood shed so she was able to keep track of our progress and to shout an encouraging word every so often. Jack took a nap after lunch and I decided to keep going. My new friend is the wheel barrow. I loaded it up, wheeled the wood over to the shed and unloaded it very easily. After about 20 wheel barrow loads, I was beat. Jack came out and Katie joined him and they finished it up and cleaned up the pile of leaves and bark that were left behind. It was a real team effort and now we know we will enjoy some fires through the next few months of winter.

A Soup Recipe

It really is soup season and Katie and I are experimenting with all kinds of soups. This is the one for this week. I hope you enjoy it.

Greek Lentil and Spinach Soup with Lemon (The Washington Post)

Ingredients

Servings: 8 (makes 12 cups)

• 1 pound brown or large green lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 10 cups vegetable broth or water
• 1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
• 2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 medium Yukon Gold, russet or red potatoes (1 1/4 pounds total), scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 10 ounces baby spinach, chopped
• 1 small butternut squash (1 pound), peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice (3 cups)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion (12 ounces), chopped
• 2 ribs celery, with leaves, sliced
• 3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fine salt, or more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
• 2 lemons
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the lentils, stock or water, jalapeño, coriander, cumin, oregano and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer, partially covered, until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
2. Add the potatoes, spinach and butternut squash, re-cover and cook until the potatoes and squash are tender, another 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion, and cook, stirring, until it starts to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the celery and garlic and cook, stirring often, until they soften, 3 minutes. Add the mixture to the soup, deglazing the skillet with a little bit of the broth from the soup, then add the deglazed contents back to the soup pot. Season with the salt and pepper, taste, and add more if needed. Discard the bay leaves.
4. Thinly slice one of the lemons and cut the other into wedges. Just before serving, stir the lemon juice into the soup. Serve the soup hot, with a lemon slice floating atop each bowl. Pass lemon wedges at the table.