Our heat cut out last weekend, which prompted some overdue maintenance on our boiler. It turns out that the transparent tube that shows the water level (called the sight glass or water gauge) had gotten plugged with sediment, and we accidentally added too much water. In addition to the lack of heat, this led to horrible clanging in the pipes and radiators as the steam hit water that shouldn’t have been there.

Last Tuesday was the one-year anniversary of our pre–move-in election-night painting marathon, and we still hadn’t painted all the trim. So this weekend we finally buckled down and finished the dining room. We used a no-VOC paint, because according to the EPA, volatile organic compounds have been linked to cancer and have lots of other health effects. These include eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches; dizziness; nausea; and damage to the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system.

My aversion to root vegetables is well documented. So when we got rutabagas, carrots, and celeriac in our last CSA, in addition to all the potatoes, onions, leeks, beets, and garlic we’ve collected this fall, I was a little put off.

The warmth this weekend seemed like a last gasp, so we decided to do a fall cleaning while we could still open the windows. This was a perfect opportunity to put our new microfiber cloths to the test. I know I’m a little late to this party. When I decided to stop using paper towels [...]