Our rental only has a pod machine, so today we went searching for a pour-over cone, our preferred way to brew. It turns out pour-overs aren’t really a “thing” here, so we pivoted to a French press. Tracking one down required a fruitless trip downtown followed by a trek into suburbia, but we finally snagged one at a big-box store. Between Google Maps, tap-to-pay transit, and a fine lunch, it turned out to be an excellent day.
Category: Home Living
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
With temperatures hitting -21°F (-29°C), our building’s heat failed. My smart home setup let me manage this from afar. I watched the temperature drop and ran ceiling fans and the AC blower to circulate air. The thermostat remained “on,” so glycol stayed moving through the radiators to prevent frozen pipes. There wasn’t anything more I could’ve done in person. After a few hours, the heat is finally back on and the plants look OK.
-8⁰F
Woke up to -8⁰F (-22⁰C), a good day to stay in and check in for tomorrow’s flights to a warmer place. While I watched a Japanese drama series on an exercycle, Dwight hit a treadmill with a podcast. We’ve truly tipped the fridge now: dinner tonight is Leftover-Sausage-Saturday Musubi™.
Travel essentials
Started gathering items for our upcoming trip to the Southern Hemisphere summer. The currency is left over from a trip in 2020. We use the detergent sheets both at home and while traveling; there’s enough here for 14 loads. The Japanese coffee filters have become an essential part of our gear. Our entire packing system relies on Ziploc freezer bags ranging from one pint to two gallons.
Nordic themes
Hygge was clearly a theme as we walked into Orchestra Hall for a Nordic chamber music concert performed by members of the Minnesota Orchestra. The program featured works by three Scandinavian composers: Valborg Aulin, Otto Mortensen (I had to Google both), and Jean Sibelius. The current music director, Thomas Søndergård, is from Denmark and his predecessor, Osmo Vänskä, is from Finland, reflecting the Nordic roots of many Minnesotans.
‘Twas on a Monday morning*
It’s Monday morning, time to get to work. My goals for the day are to pack away the Christmas decorations (since it’s Twelfth Night) and hopefully finish the jigsaw puzzle. I’ll also be “a-washing”* four loads of laundry. Meanwhile, “my darling”* has gone to visit his mom for the day, about an hour’s drive away; later, he’ll be “dashing away with the smoothing iron,”* as that is strictly his job. *English folk song.
One in, one out
This beauty arrived from Williams-Sonoma today: a Le Creuset cast iron gratin dish, my online Black Friday purchase. I generally do the bakes, so I’ll be making good use of this. The dish is made in France, so I will have missed the more extreme tariff placed on China. Our household rules dictate that an old kitchen item must now go to Goodwill.
Gasket secret revealed
Who knew? Our washing machine’s door gasket has hidden drain holes. We noticed water accumulating and causing mold growth, but Dwight found the solution on YouTube: remove the gunk from the hidden drain holes. Unblocking them motivated me to clean the air and water filters in the TOTOs, which I do periodically, having read the manual. Such is our pursuit of excitement this quiet Sunday.
The ripple effect of travel: pourovers and TOTOs
In Japan, we buy packs of these pourover single-serve coffee filters prefilled with coffee to use in hotel rooms. On Amazon, I buy boxes of empty single-serve filters to bring when traveling, filling them with locally bought ground coffee. Here, I’m using one left over from our recent trip. Just one example of how travel changes behavior. A more significant example is the ubiquitous washlets in Japan. We liked them so much, we installed TOTO washlets in our home.
Deconstructed turkey served with gratitude
We’re quietly celebrating this Thanksgiving, and the centerpiece of our meal is Dwight’s stuffed turkey thigh (minus the bone), finished with a rich gravy. The stuffing is equally rich, with about a dozen ingredients, including meaty porcini mushrooms. And we have plenty left over for another meal.