Rain and Cold, Oatmeal and FIRE!

Yesterday wasn't really COLD, but it was wet. Wet all day, a slow and drizzly rain without wind.

Oatmeal was on sale a few days ago, 10 lbs for $10. I snatched it up, right next to the 25 lbs of sugar for $12 ($5 off), more honey and raisins. So yesterday morning I made a huge batch of oatmeal/raisin/pecan cookies while I was puttering about the kitchen. I will buy things on sale - IF I normally use them. And in the fall and winter, I use a lot of oats; must be the Irish in me, but I LOVE oats. I made a huge casserole of garlic pasta, Italian sausage, and limas in my Alfredo sauce, and that went well with the tomato/basil bread and cookies.

While I was preparing lunch, the bus went by from the school, loaded with football players. Oh, crap, I had forgotten about the game! So I went out to Mike's shop, told him lunch was ready, and reminded him of the football game. We ate lunch and went. It is only five blocks to the football field. It was great fun; everyone was there, and the bank put on their annual brat grill (free to all) but we had already eaten. The Color Guard from the American Legion presented the colors, and even in the rain all cowboy hats, baseball caps, and even helmets were off the heads and over the hearts of everyone there. We sat in the drizzling rain and cheered the team. I had gotten a heads-up from my friend that THIS was probably not the game to watch, as this visiting team always beats our Cowboys. They are some very big boys, and Mike and I discussed the need for our local fellas to maybe switch to pork chops, collards, and cornbread for a dietary supplement. In the programs we were handed at the gate, there were the names of every single player - and his parents.

Oh, yeah, they don't play the games at night, but at one o'clock in the afternoon. I like this better - no sitting in stands as the sunset blinds the players, and no slowly freezing to one's seat as the sun goes down and the nighttime kicks in. We don't have a large set of bleachers here - but it's ok, everyone brings chairs or sits in their cars facing the field, and blowing their car horns on good plays. We don't have built-in bathrooms, but semi-permanent portapotties, and no one complains. We are a small town and no one demands anything, because they know who pays for it and who has to take care of it.

So anyway, we went home after the game. The house was very chilly, damp from all the rain in the air. So I fired up the cast iron stove. Now, this stove is small, the firebox can only take wood that is 22 inches long or less, and it sits in a corner of the family room on a brick pedestal. But with a pile of twigs to start, and three small logs, and some careful adjusting of the flue and intakes, I had a rich red glow from it in half an hour, that lasted until we went to bed at 11. With the placement of an oscillating fan in the doorway, the whole house was at 70 degrees all night, and even this morning.

Today I'll put my onions in, and tonight there is a 'smoker' at the fire station. This is a big barbeque they have every year, $10 a head, all you can eat, that lasts from 5 PM until 1 AM, beer extra. BEER? Yes, BEER - you see, the folks here are grownups and don't need a nanny government telling them that they are not mature enough to drink. The fire department has to pay $40 to renew their liqour license annually. LIQUOR LICENSE? Yes, that's what I said. Again, no Eastern cramp about "what if" or "we have to MAKE them responsible" - since they are all adults, they are assumed to BE responsible. And - gasp - they ARE. Imagine that.

As we slide into fall, the smell of the woodsmoke from our fireplace, the sounds, activities, and smells of fall are everywhere. And we are loving it.