 It is hard to judge how much propane your AGA will consume and how often the tank level needs to be checked. The first thing I discovered is all the AGA literature is aimed at people who are using oil. natural gas or coal. This means that with natural gas you don't have to worry about running out...cut off...unable to pay, but not running out. This means that running my stove at what is considered the optimum temp ,having only 1 person cooking and only using it as an auxiliary source of heat, it is hard to figure how often I need my 110 lb propane tank filled. My fuel provider(both oil and propane) have me watch the gauges on the tanks and when they get low I need to call them. But this is problematic for me: 1. The AGA stove I have works by using radiant heat. The stove retains it's heat in the iron body filled with wool and the oven temp is determined by how close to the fire box it is. The plates on top are the same , the boiling plate directly over the fire box(heat source) at full temperature can be over 500 degrees. The plate or hob to the right is the simmering plate. The rule of thumb is 7 minutes maximum on any plate and then the pot or pan goes into the correct oven for it to finish cooking. Which means you need to be prepared with your ingredients to cook quickly and then into the oven. This may seem silly, but your kitchen doesn't smell, so you need to learn to use a timer once things go into the oven. Reheating leftovers or frozen casseroles is really easy and you don't have to wait for the stove to heat up, boil over...etc. THE PROBLEM COMES WITH HOW MUCH FUEL DO I NEED? 2. If I do keep the stove up to optimum temp my Addition kitchen/living area is 74 degrees, while the rest of my old house is set between 62 -64 and I have forced hot air. 3. So I turned the AGA down(there are no numbers or marks just a dial that goes up or down to shut off the gas). This will affect my 4 ovens making them work at the lower temps. The roasting oven should be 375-475 F, Baking oven 325-350 F, simmering oven 250-315 F. But with the reduced gas flow : my roasting oven is 325-365 F and the baking oven is 275-325. But my simmering oven is now great for letting dough rise , warming plates or keeping cooked items warm, drying herbs or melting butter. My 4th oven is used as storage . 3. So my dilemma is I have to turn the stove up for when visitors come and still hope I don't run out of Propane(especially in the winter). It is hard because my usage is so erratic it is hard for my fuel provider to find the right balance. Hopefully soon things will level out....even with all this ...I love the AGA and it was Brandon's dream to have one...so here we are! 
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 This is Moss and her ram lamb Peat, who was born this morning . Mom and peat are having some evening mash and are relaxing in the lambing shed. There are now 22 lively and thriving lambs in the farm yard. The house is getting it's makeover...new windows, shingles and trim and finally I have a new washing machine which will be hooked up on Friday!!!!!! So much to do and such weird weather.....very hot....then cold and windy, back to hot and now a return to cooler dryer weather......but everything is greening up and the bugs (other than ticks)haven't arrived in full force!   I thought I was done lambing..... We had more snow in March and I was sure I was done lambing. But the last weekend in March a ewe lamb was born from a mom who gave birth last April while I was at my mothers funeral in Virginia. Then 2 days later a yearling gave birth to another ewe lamb. I really thought I was done...but this morning in between the rain squalls a ewe who is just a year old gave birth to a ram lamb. I guess I can't really say if I am done with lambing. There are now 21 lambs! 2 tan, 2 black, 2 ewe lambs with horns and the rest of the lambs are white or have tan patches. We shall see what the rest of the month brings.
 There are 16 lambs that are lively and running around like a school of fish and 2 new lambs that were born on February 9th. One of which was so big I needed to help deliver it....in the mud.
Yes , Mud....It has been warm enough for the ground to become a muddy mess. Luckily this fall the courtyard had been scrapped and stone put down to improve drainage. Where last year I would have been in 6 inches of mud , I am only in a little surface mud and slush. I have only 1 full time bottle baby right now and she is a month old, her name is Lady . She gets a bottle only twice a day now, which is much easier on me. The lamb I helped deliver Thursday(9 pm) is on the bottle as his mother still hasn't had her milk drop. But she is also a ewe whose teats face at an odd angle making it hard for lambs to drink. I will be working on that today, otherwise I will be feeding every 6 hours for the next week, leaving not much time for much of anything away from the farm. I think I have 3 ewes left to give birth????? So we shall see. I am glad of the warmer weather as having already had a birth occur in -16 F and almost losing him to the cold is not fun. By the way the lamb born on that very cold morning is named Linus and his mother is Peanuts. Peanuts had a surprise lamb last April while I was in Virginia at my Mom's funeral and her name is Freida.  Yes I do look a bit overwhelmed.....but it has more to do with everything being moved around. I am a very visual person and I like being able to visualize where I saw something or am looking for something. It is one thing if I move an item, but when other's are involved in this process it makes it difficult for me to find things. I know I need to let this feeling go but it is frustrating. I made charts for all the cabinets and drawers in both kitchens so I know where things will go or where they are now. I need to do this in my backroom, sewing room and the new downstairs library/bedroom. I need to move all my books from the upstairs library as the floors are not happy with me. So on it goes and it is slow...but I am moving forward into 2023!
 This is the before being gutted picture  This is today:
12/21/22 I can't wait for the floor,walls and cabinets to go in. Then the appliances and the counter tops! The French door fridge is due TODAY! I still need to get the plumber out to do the Kitchen drain and the drawers can now be filled, but I need some organizers for them. So many little things that need getting done. The rip out of the old kitchen won't start till after December 9th. But by then the Addition Kitchen will be ready to rock and roll into the holiday season! OH but there is a lighting issue, but that will have to wait till after the 9th as well. I have lots of floor lamps , but no overhead lighting and the overhead fan's need to be connected to help with warm air circulation. Needless to say things are moving along in Brandon's vision...I hope he is smiling. Brandon is the one in the picture below with the red hat and red shirt helping with the post and beam frame. AN UPDATE: The fridge was in the truck, but they didn't have the paperwork.........so they couldn't release it to me. I will now wait for lowes to contact me with a new delivery date. As mom would say"good things come to those who wait". Thanks Mom, I will keep thinking that!   The countertops in the Addition kitchen are in place, but not yet secured. I cleaned up the living room as much as I could , moving furniture and the Canning Kitchen appliances. The guys had to take off the front door to be able to more the two biggest countertops, the center island and the sink countertop. Now they are in the process of securing everything. More pictures to come!
The season's are moving on.....where did summer go this year? My body has not been cooperative lately and many of the farm chores have not been done. I have missed 3 September farmers markets and yesterday I only sold eggs at the market. My low back and pelvis are having problems working together, it doesn't help that I have arthritis in the connections at the ends of the ribs ( it is called Facet Joint Arthritis). I am hoping this week to slowly get some things done and a bit more canning. I need to find at least 2 white pumpkins so I can make Pickled Pumpkin.   The drought has brought on an early harvest of apples and pears. I have made Spiced Apple jelly and Spiced apple rings. There are alot of pears, but they are small and hard which makes it difficult to do anything with them except to pick them and store them in the basement while they ripen.
Cucumbers and Zucchini seem to be done as well as peaches. I am glad I don't grow all those veggies.....I enjoy buying them from other farmers and paying them for their labor and expertise. I have some red fall raspberries, but they are very small and won't amount to much other than a snack for me and the birds. I am hoping to pick up some white pumpkins to make pickled pumpkin before the kitchen renovation begins. Now that the canning season is winding down I won't be doing much more canning till the canning kitchen is finished . Once that is done I will be starting to can the fruit in the freezer to make jams and preserves. As my dad would say" onward and upward". |
Mary Will Sussman Archives
May 2023
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