2026, animals, Food, holidays, Nature, Uncategorized, Weather

Winter Is Coming

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i don’t know what got into me this weekend, but I fulfilled one of my priorities and did all the ordering for my Christmas baking. It involved ordering:

Glaceed orange peel, glaceed lemon peel, glaceed cherries, and glaceed citron, 4 lbs of pecans from an orchard in Georgia, my yearly purchase of 10 lbs of a really nice chunk of parmesan from Italy (it is cut from a wheel and lasts for a year), eight 2-cup containers of leaf lard from a Pennsylvania butcher shop for pie crusts and lefse, Swedish pearl sugar, sliced almonds, black currants, golden raisins, Danish marzipan, and a gallon tin of Turkish olive oil.

Now I will be set for any baking needs for Christmas and for the year. Then I started to think about other winter preparations. I filled the water softener with salt and changed out the furnace filters. We have two furnaces in our home due to an addition to the house a few years ago. Did you know you can get furnace filters with small batteries that will alert you when the filters need changing? Husband did some yard and flowerbed clean up yesterday. I heard from a foster parent I know from western ND who told me she had to scrape frost off her truck windows Sunday morning. The bison at the park here are getting furry. Winter is coming and I couldn’t be happier.

What winter preparations do you need to complete? How good are you at changing furnace filters? Watch Game Of Thrones?

27 thoughts on “Winter Is Coming”

  1. I’m pushing to get the work knitting done by Halloween, possible, but I have to make a quota every day. We’ll see.

    Started shifting the sweaters and such, need to get after the yard. I need to set up a daily quota system for that too, as that is really the only pace I have these days.

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  2. Plastic on the window. Check the car’s emergency kit. I’m really good at filter changing. Easily done at every Equinox.
    Tried Game of Thrones but started into Vikings. Maybe later.

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  3. The biggest thing is to get moved into my new apartment in Roseville before the snow starts flying. I will be moving out of assisted living tomorrow (finally!) and the belongings that have been there are going to the new place. But the majority of my belongings are still in my Vadnais Heights condo. That stuff needs to get moved out so the condo can be listed for sale. Some things will be donated, some will be tossed, a lot will need to be moved. I’m still not at full strength or stamina so this has been a tiring process despite having family and friends helping.

    I’ve never watched Game of Thrones but on a trip to Ireland a couple years ago we visited several of the sites where it was filmed.

    This is K-Two (in case Word Press still considers me to be anonymous).

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  4. I’ve brought up some of my warmer clothes, and will finish that as it gets colder. We got the oil changed on the Prius, and the garden is pretty ready; just have to harvest some beets and carrots, tho’ that can wait a while longer.

    I leave the “pollinator garden” clean-up till spring, so the bees etc. have a place to winter over. At least, that’s what they pollinator people say to do..

    I confess I haven’t changed a furnace filter – I should watch next time Husband does that.

    Game of what?

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  5. I’ve never had to deal with furnace filters – I have radiator heat, and the only places I’ve lived with forced air came with a landlord to caretake the furnace.

    I did watch some videos on how to use furnace filters to build a DIY air filtering box fan. If we continue to have wildfires in the summer I may have to move that to the top of the to do list.

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  6. I’ve never watched GOT either, but the music teacher just told me to listen to the theme. Because it’s in 6/8 time.

    I have too many things to finish before winter…mostly I need to unhook the hoses, and get the pressure washer in the shop. (Actually it’s already in the shop; it needs a new carburetor, which I Have, and if I get it installed and if I get it running, and if I take it back outside to wash up equipment, THEN I’ll need to get it back to the shop.

    I need to change the furnace filters at the Rep… Up on the rooftop unit are 4, 2″ thick filters. And they’re a pain to get at. I usually try to get some teenager to do it for me. Then 4 other furnaces with regular filters. They’re not as hard to change.

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  7. When GOT first aired, it was on HBO, which we don’t have. Not sure if that’s still the case but after I’d heard people talk about major characters getting killed off, that was it for me. Killing off major characters just doesn’t do it for me.

    Not much winter change here. I did the bales and will take down the flower baskets when the flowers die (they’re mostly still going strong). Like BiR, I leave most of the mess until spring. Will probably switch out my summer/winter tops in a couple of weeks; my everyday cold weather wear lives in my bedroom year-round. Will be doing the bi-annual changing of the allergy covers on the bed soon.

    Have never lived in a house with furnace… both my houses have been boiler houses.

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  8. We got a new furnace this summer and the guys who installed it have been to do the final inspection, so now I just get to hope I don’t have to turn it on for a bit. Have replacement filters in the basement when the time comes. Super simple when it does.

    Saw a couple episodes of GOT at some time and it gave me the ick in a big way. No thanks, which was disappointing.

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    1. Oh, meant to say thanks for making me think about baking, Renee! I won’t do it on your scale, but this is a great time to use the oven and warm up the house a bit.

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  9. I usually change the furnace filter when I change over from AC to heat and vice versa. How do you get from furnace filters to Game of Thrones?

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    1. I’m taking a wild stab here. Every picture or snippet I’ve seen of Game of Thrones shows it during winter. Is that how you got there Renee?

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  10. Good Afternoon,

    Well, I just reminded husband to go clean out the (reusable) furnace filter–that is one of those tasks that he can do from long habit if I remind him to do so. Thank you Renee. We also have to take in the plants I over-winter, and take down the planters. There is a Black-eyed Susan vine that is so lush and beautiful that I have been loathe to admit winter is on its way. Soon the patio and deck furniture will be stowed away, as well. I may hire someone to do the fall yard work.

    Meanwhile, onto Game of Thrones. This navigates into my trip to Ireland which is near the filming sites of GOT. (I really am going to write up the trip for a post now that we are healthy again, and husband’s declining health is stabilized somewhat following an infection that caused dramatic disorientation). Many of the outdoor scenes of GOT were filmed at Inch Abbey, the site of an ancient Abbey in ruins. It is 4 miles from the retreat center where we stayed. During the years it was filming, the company rented the retreat center for a costume and make-up location because it was a facility near to the filming. After learning this the last time I visited the retreat center (Tobar Mhuire in Crossgar, N. Ireland if you want to search it) I rented a couple of the first episodes to watch it. While the outdoor location was beautiful, it was not my kind of series. The first beheading it featured had the obviously silicone head landing on the ground amidst the fake gore, flopping wildly. Ick and Stupid Ick. So that was the end of that. My friend that runs the center says he has never watched the show, but that he took their money. The buses touring the film sites are easily spotted there.

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  11. I love winter, but I also try to enjoy fall as much as possible, so I prep as needed and as late as possible. Hoses come in soon after the first frost, and we’ll not be likely to water anything. I mulch/mow the lawn to deal with the leaves until either the snow flies or the leaves are all dealt with (rarely happens).

    Every few years we have a furnace check/tuneup. Filters are easy if you have easy access to the filter slot. We do, so it takes a minute. I change them every 3 months, especially now that we have a cat who is a walking fur factory. I suppose I’ll have to check that I have enough gas for the snowblower and maybe check the oil and spark plug.

    I read the first GOT book—finally—back in 2018 and thought it was “meh.” Gave it 3 stars on Goodreads, which is a solid C in my book. It passes, but hasn’t much to offer in added entertainment value. That decided me on NOT watching the TV show.

    Chris in Owatonna

    **BSP** If you want to know the inside story of how I and my four colleagues in Midwest Mystery Works wrote our medical thriller, The Kill Code Collective, come on down to the Owatonna Public Library on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 1 pm. You’ll get the inside story from at least 3 of us ( I hope 4). No charge, and the library’s easy to find. Downtown Owatonna, 1 block north of Main Street on Elm. Hope to see you there. **END BSP**

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  13. The mention of the Parmesan cheese from Italy reminds me of a work=related event many years ago. There was a huge wedge of parmesan cheese which you carved small chunks and drizzled them with balsamic vinegar from Modena. I recall learning that there was a distinction between balsamic vinegar of Modena, and the truly authentic kind that actually comes from Modena, though I can’t remember all the details. It was delicious.

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