Cold Morning and Cooked A Turkey

 

Yesterday, (Friday) the 5th of December, It was 10 degrees at 7:00 am. Overnight the temperature went down to 1 degree. The previous day I thawed a 15 pound frozen turkey by immersing it in cold water, changing it every 30 minutes. 7 or 8 hours later it was thawed. I kept it in a cooler overnight in the back shed hoping it would remain safely cold until morning but not refreeze or partially refreeze. When I opened the cooler the temp was a safe 34.5 degrees. Perfect. We cooked the bird and had a nice dinner around 5:00pm. Oddly for me I never snapped a photo of the cooked turkey. I will say it was delicious. Earlier at 2:00pm  I met sisters Sue and Carol at Al's place in Calcium. The were returning from an overnight in Albany where the attended a live show with actor comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short. They said it was a great show.

Thawed turkey in a water bath, changing the cold water every half hour or so.

Kept thawed turkey overnight in the cooler where it remained at safe temperature of 34.5 degrees.

4th of July and Better Half is in Hospital

Today is Independence Day, the 4th of July and the Better Half is in St. Joseph's Hospital, Syracuse, NY, recovering from surgery. She had a section of large colon removed after a few years of problems with diverticulosis/ diverticulitis. 

This is the surgery waiting room at St. Joe's hospital in Syracuse, NY. It's and older part of the place and is visually interesting. 

She is doing well and  was up walking around 24 hours after the 7 hour surgery.

Tuesday July 2nd the operation was done by Dr. Dantu. 

Strawberry short cake at sister Sue's

I visited the Better Half in the hospital today and at 3:00 went to sister Sue's place in Utica area.Sister Carol was there as well as Sue's granddaughter E. We had grilled steak, salad, salt potatoes and strawberry short cake. It was all yummy. Headed home to Chaumont about 7:00, arrived at 9:00.

Morning Moon Photo, Christmas Tree Down, & Notes

 

Moon at 7:30am, Chaumont, NY, sonny a6600 camera, Minolta 200mm f2.8 auto focus lens.

We took our Christmas tree down today. I should say I took it down. The Better Half watched me as she has limited mobility with her broken leg. 

Photo of the moon at 7:30 this morning, Sunday January 8, 2023, as seen from our backyard, Chaumont, NY. Temperature this morning was 14 degrees. The coldest night & morning we have had in more than 2 weeks. Most days we have had temps in the 30's and low 40's. The wood stove has been doing a great job, limiting how much heating oil we have been using. Price of home heating oil has been above $5.00 a gallon, and I have heard as high as $6.75 a gallon. That is insane. It was $2.00 a gallon in 2020 when President Joe Biden took office.

etter Half gets better every day as she heals from the broken femur. She as her low points of despair and frustration each day, but that's to be expected. 

Siblings a A & S dropped n this evening for about an hour. They arrived from Arizona after a 4 day road trip. S has new job in Utica, NY, starting in a few days.

Breakfast this morning was Italian sausage, fried eggs & toast.

This evening we had a variety cheeses & crackers, variety of stuffed olives, Croghan Bologna, sliced carrots.