The wonderful thing about problems is that you get to solve them. Something goes wrong. You worry on it. You find a pathway to the solution. You fix it or you live with it. But it becomes familiar. The next time it goes wrong, you panic less because you have already found the pathway to the solution. Each problem becomes a challenge. Less of a disaster. 
So when TonTon got skunked AGAIN at 4 am yesterday morning, I just put the pillow over my nose and thought. Fine. I know how to clean him now. No worries. And from now on he is not allowed outside until it is light. 
Then when I got to the barn with my clean dog by 6am and the milking machine pump did not work again. I did not panic, I had encountered this one before too. I practiced my hand milking then I put Daisy back out into the yards with some extra placatory hay, reached for the phone and called the nice man with the blue pump, then milked her fully when he came. Then I called John to bring home the stuff he needed to clean my pump out again. And hoped that he would fix one of the trucks soon so that I could pick up the emergency pump myself next time. 
When the wind hit gale force and the temperatures were over the expected high of 103, I thought fine I have closed all the windows already, the fans are on, I have done the best I can. The Old Codger and I ate a good brunch to fortify ourselves for the day, finishing with icecream. Then with him calling orders from his porch I found an old tin rubbish bin lid which we turned upside down under a tree and filled with water for his ‘critters’. Should have done that weeks ago he said, then back to his chair he went to watch the Olympics.
Back home I worked outside in small hits. Drunk lots of water. Wore my hat which Ton practiced retrieving when the wind blew it off my head. And slowly achieved what I could.
A bucket of freshly picked tomatoes was peeled, chopped, cooked, blended with the stick blender that I love, then put into the crockpot to cook down. 
I did not get to the pickles but that was OK. Then the Tall Teenager called, he was staying over with his grandmother for the night so dinner could be simple. And the clean up fast. I hung the evenings load of washing on the line. Got the sprinkler in place for the early morning watering, spent an hour struggling with the internet then hit the sack with my book.
But I had forgotton something. I had forgotton to turn off the crock pot. After a while, sometime in the night, it must have switched itself to the lowest setting and look!
Beautiful thick sauce. Almost a paste. Overnight it reduced by half in the crock pot with the lid off. So you see? Even my mistakes were good ones yesterday.
Good morning. It is still dark so TonTon is sat on the floor next to me, clean, but with his legs crossed waiting patiently for the skunk visitors to be Far Away! We have put water plates on the outskirts of the property and I have begun to slowly move the usual garden water containers into gardens further from the house. I will move them further away from the bedroom steps each day and retrain the skunks away from my windows. This is my naive plan anyway.
It is thundering outside and as the light rises, a dark cloudy sky is being revealed. So at the very least it will be a cooler day. With any luck and a strong string we may be able to pull a little rain over here!
Have a lovely day.
celi
On this day a year ago.. I shared my bread non-recipe and was working on weaning lambs. I am enjoying these glimpses a year ago too.
The Kitchen's Garden 
71 responses to “Plain Sailing”
Good morning, Celi. What a positive attitude you have. I hope your skunk plan works!
So do I. It seems Tonton and the skunk are enjoying their morning encounters just a little bit too much!! c
I’ve been thinking about using the crock pot for just that…now that you’ve done the test run, there’s no reason not to!
Wishing you good rain today – without the hail that goes with thunderstorms!
i am thrilled with the result. if we were to make tomat conserva like a few of us did last year, all i have to do is strain it first! not the same taste as roasted in the oven but pretty good.. c
Miss C, you really are a remarkable lady!
Good morning Carol Anne.. c
All in all a quite unremarkable day. I hope your raincloud arrives soon; it has the longest string I could find.
It was a great string and we held it here for almost 10 minutes, not a bad little rain at all! Fresh from your mountains too!! c
Oh I love it when a plan goes awry and there is a bonus waiting for you! Rich tomato sauce perfect. We ate the last bacth of tomato sauce from the freezer this week, and now I’m playing that waiting game for this years crop to ripen. Happy days !
Oh the waiting! Tomatoes take their time, we are doing really well so far.. morning claire! c
…and then all of the problems of today will next year be in the old year’s remembrance blog…
It is so interesting to look and see what i was doing that day, a real visual diary.. tons of fun ronnie.. c
Although you found plenty of silver linings, I hope today brings fewer problems. It’s true what you say, though- it made me think of how much less panicky I am around Kaya than I was with Baki.
Living and learning.. that is the trick.. and a calm day is unfolding, lets hope it stays that way…c
Am counting the hours of sleep you get on my fingers, hmm, somehow don’t get to the toes 🙂 ! Are you absolutely certain that TonTon is not playing a game in tandem with said skunk(s) on you: he is getting an awful lot of attention out of turn as far as all the other ‘critters’ are concerned 🙂 !
I try to be in bed by 8pm though lately i have been failling miserably, Luckily i am a good sleeper. Oh the lengths a dog will go to to get attention!! morning eha, or should i say evening! c
Well, evening to you now ! Yes, well, different diurnal patterns: I rarely stop working ere midnight!! 🙂 ! Not tho’ tonight nor for the next fortnight: Opening Ceremony at 5.30 am local time and Cycling Road race starting about 7pm [till past midnight!] and I won’t be off the TV, if I can help it for the full fortnight ;D ! Methinks a lot of blog writers will be very happy not to get my long ‘ramblings’ 😉 !
It’s great that you have such a good neighbor. I love the picture of your piggies in the sprinkler. What a life! And I don’t know about that dog. Maybe his sniffer is broken! I guess some dogs don’t learn. We’ve had some skunks around but thankfully none of our dogs have ever taken a full spray. I’m enjoying reading your posts from last year. Thanks for the inspiration to start my day. Hope yours is fantastic and that you get some rain.
I am very lucky with my long suffering neighbours. and I think you are right, some dogs learn and some don’t. Miserably Ton is a don’t. The Big Dog has not been skunked as long as I have been here.. so you have to ask yourself!! c
What a beautiful philosophy in your opening paragraph Celi! I admire your fabulous positive attitude. Have a beautiful day and hope you get a lovely long soaking rain.
🙂 Mandy
Morning Mandy!! c
To stay positive in light of all those adversities is admirable. Admirable indeed.
Now, a thought. I saw that cooked down tomato sauce and thought, oh, a paste to spread on that skunked TonTon.
I also thought, actually remembered, the time I left my dirty, water-filled crockpot open on the kitchen counter overnight. I was soaking off some burned on chicken. In the morning I found a, get this, dead mouse floating in the chicken broth. Be forewarned…
Oo a mouse how awful. When i cook with the lid off i cover it with one of those netting splatter lids, mainly for flies actually, but it should keep mice off too. Though it was cooking so if the mice got past the heat of the pot and in there he would be well cooked by morning! The dog cleaned up really well with the dawn and the biogreen clean. No need to waste my beautiful tomato paste on him! morning audrey!!c
That is so true, most problems have solutions! No matter how frustrating, it’s all about finding them. Love that picture of the pigs too!
Those pigs are a laugh a minute! I need to have my breakfast and then go and let them out for a run. morning ksenia.. c
Whoa there Cecilia, I can see you becoming a crock pot convert yet!
Christine
yes I am.. its all over now.. morning christine! hope you have lots of lovely guests at the B&B.. c
Plain’s sailing!
That is a better way of putting it, i wondered if you would see the pun! morning alice!
The pun was great–my comment to say, “I get it.” Take a bow. (Applause)
Nothing like pork basking in the sun and taking a bath. 😉
if you were to cast your eye over to the other side of the farmy you would indeed have seen pork basking in the sun.. big porkers!! c