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"Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful."
- Unknown

"That which does not kill you, makes you stronger."
- Handed down through the ages.

"Life's tough. It's even tougher when you're stupid."
- John Wayne



A Quiet Week

It's a late, chilly, 11 degree windy evening. We sure have been spoiled by the mild temps - real winter comes along and we're all shivering! The past week went by quietly. Work for Tom, work for me, and life in between. Nothing earth-shattering. We drove up and plowed Tuesday night. There hasn't been any substantial new snowfall (just a couple of inches), but we wanted to stay on top of things (the snowmobiles really make a mess of the plowed road when they ride on it instead of the trail).

Friday night we enjoyed an impromptu frozen pizza dinner with friends on the way home. Then, Tom and I drove home, he hooked up the snowmobile trailer and headed back so that they (the men) could drink beer and work on our utilitarian snowmachine that night. And, success was achieved: they drank their beer and got the snowmobile running like a top! I meanwhile, was excited to have the time to get some dishes done! Really!

That reminded me how our extra time this past week was spent! The kitchen drain was running slowly, and no amount of Drano could help it. I was directed towards the high-test acid stuff (inside a bottle inside a bag) at the hardware store. Unfortunately, the pipes under the kitchen sink spontaneously and coincidentally broke while I was in the acid-pouring process. Result? Busted pipes with dripping acid water filling up and running out from that under-sink cabinet.

Long story short: Tom spent all of his extra time for three days removing and replacing over 30' of gunked-up plumbing from underneath the house (not to mention underneath the sink). Plumbing that had been there through the 50 years of the inhabitants before us . . . never being replaced. The kitchen drain had been trying to empty through a hole about the size of a dime - at the largest.
So, of course, I was out of a kitchen sink that whole time, too, and the dishes had migrated off the counter and onto the diningroom table. I'm still not caught up.
Yesterday we headed up to the property to be greeted by the most beautiful sight as we turned off the main road onto our 4-mile winter driveway. It had been plowed by contractor equipment! It was three times the width we'd managed to keep it! It was a veritable expressway! Gone was the cowpath we'd been working on! We found the equipment that did it, but it's still a mystery as to who or why. Stay tuned!
Anyway, it was the first day we'd been able to both get up to the house with enough time to do any real work. We made use of what we had and got three of the four windows installed in the parking area of the garage. It felt GOOD to make a little progress again!
Then, last night we went to a dinner and polka at the town hall, believe it or not! We met the same friends who we saw Friday night and had a blast! The place was PACKED and drew a lot of people from town which was a pleasant surprise. We figured there were at least 200 people there. The big draw was the main show at 8:00 who is the most famous (I guess) polka accordionist (?!) in the Midwest. He's been playing since 1954. And, he was good but a titch past his prime, I think. :) But, no one seemed to care, and the wooden floor was bouncing to the beat of polka feet!
Since today is our 6th wedding anniversary (how many of you remember that dogsled ride?), we were invited to my folks' for an "old-fashioned Sunday dinner" today at noon. The Chicken Pot Pie was TENDER, and the Rum Cake for dessert was yummy! Then, we spent the afternoon getting our little guest cabin ready for a girlfriend who's arriving tomorrow. An anniversary drink in town on the way home followed by pizza and a movie on the couch finished out our day. And, we wouldn't have rather have spent it any other way! (Well, other than spending it on the couch with pizza and a movie IN THE NEW HOUSE! Next year!)

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