Friday, February 7, 2014

Random 5 Friday

1. Earlier this week my butcher block countertop was installed in the kitchen. The long wait was well worth it (we ordered the countertop in October); the countertop was made from mesquite by a woodworker in Texas. The wood is drop dead gorgeous, even prettier than I imagined. Mesquite is a very hard wood so my chef knife isn't even leaving marks when I chop up vegetables.




2. Tonight we had "kitchen sink" quiche for dinner. I make quiche or stir fry as a way to use up left over bits of this and that at the end of the week. The quiche tonight had a sprinkle of fresh thyme, ham, mushrooms, chard and mozzarella cheese.


3. Rain has finally arrived. We had a light, cold rain Thursday morning into Friday. Tonight another storm arrives; wetter and warmer. There are flood warnings for streams and roadways. We need many more storms to make up for the current drought conditions but it is a start. In the past week, the State has announced that we will not be sending water to the farms in the Central Valley. Today, the rivers were closed to fishing. Coho salmon and steelhead trout are in serious trouble -- the streams and rivers are so low that they aren't reaching the ocean so the salmon can't get upstream to spawn.

4. Brett has been busy digging trenches and laying water pipe. The other day it looked like a human mole had been at work, trenches were running from the garage, across the driveway, up the fenceline, to the back of the donkey pasture. Soon, the donkeys will have their own automatic water trough under the oak tree. Once Brett's carpal tunnel settles down and the rain stops, he plans to run a line out to the goats.




5. I won't be having a lesson on Winston this week as originally planned. But Sandy said that she has been making great progress with my boy. The Happy Mouth bit didn't make a noticeable difference in his comfort so that is disappointing. His trot work is going very well and he's starting to settle down in his canter work as well. The flu related fatigue has finally left me so I'm hoping to get back into walking and yoga so I'm (somewhat) fit when I do manage to fit in a lesson.


9 comments:

  1. I didn't think about the drought effect on the salmon runs. It certainly is terrible. We have water for the wild animals, something we never did before. You island is just beautiful. I love it.

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  2. I love your new counter top! Beautiful and practical. So Brett is at it again...I hope he did not dig all that by hand! Here (with our lovely winters) we would have to bury the pipes so much deeper so they would not freeze. Your quiche looked delicious... my kind of food. Feel better so you can have a good lesson with Sandy. Glad to hear that Winston is doing well.

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  3. glad you got some rain, too. mesquite - the bane of my existence - but it does make some beautiful wood (and some great wood smoke). :)

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  4. Beautiful Butcher Block and you got rain YEAH. Way to go Winston and Brett:) Glad you are feeling better hope Brett does soon with his wrists. Hug B

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  5. i have carpal on the right side, so I admire Bret for what he has been able to do with the water lines!

    Get over that flu... and I pray you have more rain!

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  6. Wow, the countertop is GORGEOUS! We want to redo ours in mesquite as well, and it's very common here. Now I have a much better visual of what it could look like!

    And yay rain!!!

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  7. Wow - that mesquite butcher block is to die for Annette. Many lovely meals will start there I bet!

    And I feel for Brett digging all those trenches, while at the same time am jealous at how shallow they are. Have a great weekend you two! :D

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  8. Just moved to TX, where does one find countertops like that? Actually, I would just want a large cutting board,
    Tara

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  9. Yea for rain. I hadn't thought of the salmon being in trouble. Brett did a great job and I can appreciate how hard all that digging was. Glad you are feeling better. We have to keep strong to do the things we love : )

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Thanks so much for commenting!