I gave my new-ish tent a test pitch in the pouring rain last night, because it's been far too long since I've been camping and I couldn't stand it any more.



This is only the second time I've used this tent, a sad situation that obviously must be remedied by many camping trips with Emma this summer.  I've never had it out in the rain, so this was a good chance to see if it leaks.  I also used my new down sleeping bag for the first time, so I was a little nervous about the rain. Wet down is fairly useless.

When I got up at 7am the temp was about 36 according to my little thermometer and there was some ice on the grass, but I woke up cozy, toasty, and dry!

So yes, it was just a tent in the yard and wasn't really camping.  But... I was outside and got to fall asleep listening to the rain on the tent roof, and the wind, and the creek.

It was the best night's sleep I've had in a while- I slept 10 hours!

Just in case you were wondering, five pounds of carrots can be washed, trimmed, and sliced/shredded in approximately 5 minutes, using the spiffy attachment for a KitchenAid mixer.



And five pounds of sliced/shredded carrots exactly fills a nine-tray Excalibur dehydrator. Four trays of sliced, five of shredded.



Just in case you were wondering.   :-)

Oh, and Chris asked in the comments for my last post if potatoes are cooked before dehydrating.  Yes, you have to cook potatoes first otherwise they turn purply-black, which is not at all appetizing.  I just blanch the pieces for 3-5 minutes in boiling water, depending on how big the pieces are- you don't want them so done that they're mushy and falling apart, just cooked through.  Lots of things don't have to be blanched before dehydrating (these carrots are raw), but potatoes definitely do.