The very full day

[altivo]

Gary went off to a seminar on machine knitting today, so I did barn duty myself. Also went to my spinning guild meeting, where I spent longer than originally intended because a friend needed a little help putting the heel in a sock, so I stayed and walked her through it. Dashed to the grocery, came back, put Tess out in the pasture, put the groceries away, cleaned barns and yards, brought Tess back in, fed everyone and closed up the barns.

Back to work on NaNoWriMo only to be interrupted by Gary's arrival home somewhat earlier than I expected, so I stopped to make stir fry for dinner. Then back to the keyboard while he baked cookies and bread, the smell of which is tantalizing but I'm trying to resist sampling.

Progress? My word count is close to what it should be for today, but I'm too tired to get the last four hundred or so words down. I have a feeling it would just be such gibberish I'd have to delete it all and rewrite anyway. Fortunately I'm left on the verge of an interesting and detailed scene for tomorrow, and Gary will take my regular turn at the barns so I should be able to catch up or even get ahead (hooves crossed) tomorrow.

Anyway, the next complete chapter is here. I may rearrange the sequence of some chapters in the end, so don't worry about whether this one really belongs before or after Chapter 5. They overlap timewise no matter which way they go.

Comments

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Since you're planning to use rum on the cake, it will keep quite well. I'd recommend refrigeration if you plan to extend the lifespan of the cakes beyond a couple of weeks, but my mother used to just use airtight tins and every week or two she would check and add more rum or brandy if the cloth was dry. The alcohol is an excellent preservative as well as adding flavor and character of course.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'll keep that in mind. ^^ (Mmm, I hope I'll have enough rum, then; I only bought a small bottle of 0,375l. But on the other hand, it's good rum, at least - the cheap stuff only comes in large bottles. :))

[altivo.livejournal.com]

If the rum is only for the cakes and you aren't going to use it in other ways, that should suffice. I think the cakes will be gone by the time the rum disappears. The first time you wrap the cake up in the cloth, you will use a noticeable amount, perhaps 50 ml of rum for each. After that, it needs but a spoonful for each cake about once a week, or perhaps less if they are suitably enclosed to prevent evaporation.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm not going to use it for anything else - I don't generally drink alcohol. :)

I'll just have to find a good way of storing them now. Hmm, maybe I should just get a pack of 6l ziplock bags - that's probably going to be the easiest way.