Day 9

    That indeterminate time the door repairman was supposed to arrive this morning ended up being never.  As a result, we couldn’t close the barn door and turn on the heat—Inaki and Eleanor almost froze melting the frozen ice cider in the basement today.

     The first batch of ice cider, from 2007, was too sweet for Eleanor and Albert’s tastes, so they decreased the level of residual sugar in last year’s batch.  Now, they think they cut the sugar level too low and are trying to make this year’s wine not as sweet as 2007 but sweeter than last year; unfortunately the apples just don’t seem to have the same sugar content as they did in 2008.  The melting process has slowed to a drip—Eleanor said it was “like watching paint dry, only it smells better.”

    I, on the other hand, am very excited about my work.  Eleanor has laid the task out just as she would at her former businesses—I’m going to create a storyline, PowerPoint and everything. I'm skipping the meadry tomorrow to work on my presentation, but I'm sure Inaki will help the couple sort out the tastes just fine without me.