Rob went down to a WRW rehearsal today, so I took advantage of the time alone to scrape tar paper off the floor in the pantry. It’s fairly stinky so I don’t like doing it when he’s in the house. I wear a respirator while I’m working; asking him to wear one around the house during his leisure time just seems mean. The wood is in much worse shape than the rest of the kitchen so I suspect that we may decide to replace it rather than refinish it.

I still have to do the section under the rug. Oh…the broom that’s in the image is helping hold a window fan in place. The pantry window is just a little too small for a ventilation fan, so I’ve got it propped on the windowsill and wedged in place with the broom. It worked nicely.

Last night we had Sue and Albert for company to join us in the traditional New Year’s Day menu. We nearly had a small catastrophe because this was the first time I’d made black-eyed peas from dried; I usually use the canned ones. Although I soaked them overnight, I did not allow enough time for the cooking process on New Year’s Day. It was okay, but only because I confessed the mistake to Sue and she graciously said they needed to walk the dog before they came. An hour later, they arrived and we had a lovely dinner.

The Menu
Black-eyed peas
Collard greens
Grandma’s Pear Relish - vintage 2001
Cornbread, served with butter, honey or maple syrup
Comice pear
Sushi - octopus and tuna
Iron Horse Brut Sparkling