Sunday, August 30, 2020

Fleißiges Aschenputtel

We had a rainy day yesterday. We've needed this kind of a soaking rain for so long. Just look at how much wine-colored rain collected in the glass I accidentally left out after the previous night's Al fresco dining:



The garden had needed the rain so badly, but so had my indoor "projects." I'd been neglecting them because the outdoors, and the ongoing great weather, kept dragging me away. So, the wet weather gave me a chance to tackle my cucumbers and pickling cukes before they shriveled up, to squeeze the lemons before they wrinkled, to simmer a pot of steel cut-oats for a few hours, and to bake a loaf of bread, without overwhelming the house (or myself) with excess heat.


I had a fun time completing these tasks and it actually made me feel ... fleißig - that's German for industrious, hard-working, or productive, but somehow fleißig encapsulates the essence of how I feel about today's tasks, too. It seems more apt, and conveys the sense that I've accomplished something. I think that's the real 'feel' of the German word - I feel accomplished.




Here are my 'products" - A lemon meringue pie, wholegrain bread, slow-cooked steel-cut oats with dates and golden raisins, and two different types of cucumber pickles. The cukes are still pickling, but they should be ready in just a few days. Oh, and I'm still intent on making a batch of boiled fudge, but I ran out of large basins (temporarily). I also got around to cleaning all the ash out of the woodstove from last winter, doing exactly what Aschenputtel (Cinderella in English), was named for - being an ashy, dirty girl! So I guess that makes me an accomplished Cinderella!


After having some fresh baked bread for lunch, I sat down with a cup of coffee (and a sliver of lemon meringue pie) while I decided which book to start reading next.

And tomorrow, it's back to the outdoors ...






2 comments:

Shelley Burbank said...

That is so impressive, Debbie! Looks beautiful.

Debbie said...

Thanks very much, Shelley. I almost called this one a Boast post.