Root cellars and boxes

Jerry and I had a bit of mix up this weekend.  We'd been planning to have our daughter, Tracy's, children come for a visit while Tracy went to a two day church conference in Colorado Springs.  She called, though, and told us that she'd gotten a friend to sit them so she wouldn't have to drive all the way down here to drop them off.  It is much further so we understand.  When I woke up this morning I had some difficulty trying to decide how to spend the day as I had it all planned for kid adventures. 

Well, there's always something to do.  I went down to the garden and picked green beans and zucchini, harvested baby broccoli spears, took out two virus infested tomato plants, and brought the butternut squash down into the cellar.  The cellar has me dismayed because it's taken on a storage shed look.  Look at this mess!

 

It has become the sorry repository for STUFF - not the beautiful root cellar that I had envisioned at all.  A lot of those boxes contain things from Jerry's folks' home when they died.  His mother's wedding dress and bouquet from the 1930's, all their photos, an antique stereoscope with a whole box of picture cards to use with it.

  

There's an old hand accordian in there somewhere, too, that belonged to Jerry's grandfather.  A 1950's Davy Crocket "Alamo" playset.  Christmas decorations, Thanksgiving decorations, wrapping paper.  Our adult daughters' treasures from when they lived here.  Ah yes, those mud boots that you see there.  A total mess of stuff.  When we built this home we left this section of the basement unfinished with a dirt floor with the idea that we would finish it like a true root cellar.  It will happen, I know it will.  Here's the one shelf down there that is as it should be. 

  

We've promised ourselves that cleaning, sorting, and building new shelves is coming up in the near future.  We need to ventilate the room with a pipe from the outside, insulate the walls and ceiling, and put a door on this room.  Then it will be a real root cellar.   

When I got back to the house I washed and quartered tomatoes for sauce and it's bubbling down on the stove now.  I also made zucchini raisin bread from a new recipe that called for lots of cinnamon, vanilla, eggs, sugar, oil.  It smells wonderful.  You just can't have too many zucchini recipes. 

I'm a bit startled to see that the leaves on the scrub oaks are beginning to change.  Jerry assures me that it's not "too early" but I distinctly remember this happening in a month, not now.

   

It's happening to the aspen, too

 

It seems that it is that small slice of time between the seasons already.  The flowers on the porch are still thriving but are taking on an older, more mature look to them.  A wiser look, I think, don't you agree? 

Comments

[Trapunto]

I call it the march of the boxes! I'm still enjoying your blog very much, though haven't had much to say lately. Stereoscopes are great, especially when they come under the category of "neat old stuff at granny's house," which they did for me when I was a kid.

[Jody]

Your cellar looks like our garage... still.

I feel like it is too early too and I think it's going to be an early hard winter. brrrrr

[Sandra]

Our house is looking like that....moving tomorrow, This time I plan to unpack the boxes that have been on storage for six years.

[madeline]

ooooh, can I have some squash, mama?

[Tilly]

I love all your jars. Keep looking at this part of the cellar and forget about the rest! We have a small loft space which is crammed high with all sorts of 'stuff' which I'm sure will get sorted out one day. Can we have your zucchini bread recipe please?

[Suzan]

Trapunto, stereoscopes ARE fun, aren't they? I think I'll set it out this winter so it will get some use!

Jody, I know! For some reason I think we're in for a good winter.

Sandra, wish I could help out on moving day. I'll put all the boxes in the cellar:)

Madeline, come down and get some anytime, sweetie.

Tilly, the bread turned out great so I will post the recipe maybe tomorrow. I'll just keep looking at the "right" side of that cellar.

[Viv]

I'm so jealous of your cellar. We don't really have them down here in New Zealand. I'm hoping to get my husband to build an extra pantry for all the preserves that i will be making this year. Thanks for the birthday wishes on my blog :-)