Anxiety on a Sunday?!

How-do.  I'm feeling some anxiety today which is VERY annoying.  Anxiety on an overcast Sunday just SHOULDN'T be on the books!  Nor should it be an issue on my days off.  But, as you all know, I guess there's no big surprise as to WHY I'm feeling it.  The difficulties of my life right now and all that rot.  BUT, I plan to overcome it today, by hook or by crook, as I'm determined to NOT let it spoil a precious day off!

Mama & Papa Pea and I celebrated Mom's April 30th birthday last night - the first free evening we all had in common.  And, though I know we were all exhausted, it was a really fun night with free flowing wine and laughter.  I made a REALLY simple dinner of hoagies and chips . . . but I don't think Mom would have cared if it had been PB&J sandwiches as long as SHE didn't have to prepare it!  ;)

After dinner, we had a great three (?) games of ping-pong (or gnip-gnop [pronounced guh-NIP, guh-NOP], as Mom and her friends used to call it when she was a teen).  I LUV ping-pong, and Dad set their table up in the garage a few weeks ago.  Can't remember why he finally hauled it out, but I'm SO glad he did!  We've been having tons of fun with it, even tho time allows for few games.  Here's a (maybe boring for you?) video I took last night when I was score-keeper and Mom and Dad played.  I didn't try following the ball - we would have all gotten motion sickness!!!

After gnip-gnop, we had presents and pie:

I didn't ask what Dad got Mom for her birthday because I'm GUESSING that all she wanted was "the living room finished"!!

Above, the annually-requested Banana Cream Pie.  I have yet to make The Perfect One.  Either I put the bananas on the top and they turn brown or the custard doesn't set up or . . . .  This year, it was the crust.  It didn't taste very good - I think my lard was old.  Blech.  BUT, the rest of it was yummy!!!

In other news, I *did* make progress on last Thursday's To Do list, but I spent too much time on the sorting / rummage sale prep because it felt so good to make house progress!  As a result, I didn't get as much computer / business work done as I should have.  So, guess what the majority of the rest of today will be spent doing?

Above, Maisy says, "Mom, I can't BELIEVE you're going to admit to the world what the house looks like with this 'before' picture!"

Now, Tucker says, "Ahhh, MUCH better!"  The pile to the left of the stove is a combination of 'what was there decorating the house' and the For Rummage Sale pile.  To the right is also 'what was there decorating the house' but also the start of the Packing To Move pile.

I really want to work on the disaster of the garage . . . so I can start putting boxes for The Move out there once they're packed.  But, there are other priorities that must come first.  It's hard not knowing when I'll have to be out of here - in regard to planning & packing.  I am in a holding / wait pattern as far as that is concerned.  The 1 month of the "30-Day Notice" is up, and now begins the six dreadful weeks of having my name & situation published in the local paper.  I thought it would begin with Friday's paper, but my folks said I wasn't yet in it when I saw them last night.  I should contact the credit union to find out where things are in the process.  That will ease my mind - the knowing.

In Where I Will Move To news, the nice place located 2 hours / 65 miles south of me is NOT a possibility for a Contract for Deed, after all.  I was waiting to drive out there because I didn't want to fall in love with it any more than I already had from the realty pictures, and I'm glad I waited:  now that I know it's not an option.  For now, the two properties that are the greatest possibilities are the one in the great location but with no well nor septic (did I tell you about this one*?) and another, a trailer house on 13 acres.  The location is kinda poopy, and there's nothing special about the property, but it would be a really good one for the critters with two small, rough outbuildings that have already been well-used for horses, chickens, and goats.  And, the interior of the trailer has been recently remodeled and all the appliances replaced with energy-efficient ones.  And there's a good well and a septic system (although it's probably out-of-date now).  I've snooped around this one quite a bit and am now going to make a date with the owner (a friend) to see the inside of the trailer.

*I've really fallen in love with a tiny, newly-built house on 5 acres.  It has a REALLY good "feel" to it.  Very me.  And, while only about 5 miles out of town, it's up a long driveway and PRIVATE.  The land is good, too.  But, the building, while aesthetically pleasing, was not well-built.  Shortcuts taken are very evident.  And, while it has electricity, it has no other infrastructure amenities.  Other than a nice biffy, though the tank seems to already be cracked (after only a year).  It's owned and was developed by a realtor who WOULD accept a Contract for Deed although we haven't discussed specifics.  I know that I should really go for something with EASE (water, electricity, space) right now, and the trailer is that one.  If I do end up going that route, I'll rent it, first . . . to see how I like it and if it grows on me . . . AND to bide my time to see if another option comes along.  Both the trailer with 13 acres ("lesser" neighborhood / topography) and the cabin with 5 (great location) are about the same price.

We've had warm, rainy weather lately, and it HAS prompted the "thar's green in them thar hills"!  I'll try to get some pictures.  Of course, it's greener nearer town (farther south) than here at Swamp River Ridge.

Finally, a few nice things . . . today is the 12th birthday of a dear, sweet girl I've known since she was born.  Let's see, do I have a good picture of her on this computer?  Let me look . . . 

Here's the natural beauty, a year ago this past March, at her mama's 40th birthday party.

While looking, I also found this from May 3rd of last year:

 

THIS spring, there ain't been no snow nor ice on any lakes around here for ages!

I've had to come back to finishing this post - trying to upload an image while simultaneously downloading an audio book from the library makes for s-l-o-w uploads!

I recently finished the first (for me) book by a great author, Sara Donati.  Book One of her Wilderness series is now under my belt, and it was a LONG one - over 30 hours and 912 pages!!  There's NO way I could have read this one "the old-fashioned way"!  It never grows old for me to say, "thank GAWD for audio books"!!!

Another "nice thing":  I recently sent two checks, concurrent to having enough money in my checking account, to the local electrical system guru.  I owed him the entire bill from the aggravating (for him) day he spent here removing the damaged inverter and hooking up the replacement (used) inverter.  He only charged me the amount he'd told me to expect before he worked all day on it, and I was hugely appreciative of that kindness . . . especially since the ~2 hour project took the entire day AND he had a generator guru with him the entire time (whom I'm sure he paid to be here).  So, I sent an additional $50 check that thanked him for all those extenuating circumstances.  (Of note is the fact that he and I have always had a bit of a difficult relationship - both of us having strong, stubborn heads.)  Anyway, I got an e-mail from him the other day.  It read, "I did receive your checks in the mail, but I will rip up the $50.00 check.  Thanks for the recognition for the extra help that was given, but at this point I imagine you may need it more than I. Consider it cause for celebration and have a little fun."  Now, that kindness goes a long way, eh?

Also of note, I finally opened the 'Open Last' letter than was included with Carolyn Renee's incredibly thoughtful, generous gift.  It made me LAUGH OUT LOUD which is an AMAZING thing to do on a dreary day!  I expected it to be filled with heartfelt condolences and empathy, and I think that's why (even tho those sentiments would be appreciated) I'd put off opening it for so long.  Oh, how wonderfully wrong I'd been . . . she knew JUST what I needed!  

"Chicken Mama, or whatever your "real" name is.  Although, I personally kinda like the idea of somebody calling for me across the frozen food section and screaming, "Chicken Mama!"  But, that's just me.  Because, you know, my real name isn't Carolyn Renee; it's actually Imogene Pyewacket.  Imagine trying to write THAT out on your grade school paperwork every day." 

And on it went . . . from her heart and imagination and sense of humor to ME.  I am one lucky girl!!

And, with that, and having taken the entire afternoon to write this post in fits and starts, I shall away . . . .

P.S.  My anxiety is 80% gone now.  :)  Except, I'm feeling lazy now and just want to watch TV and crochet.  Hmph.

I'm Gonna Have a Good Day

I'm feeling anxious this morning.  Beautiful day, but too warm.  That's weird.  Last day of my weekend, and I want togeteverything done today . . . but I know that ain't gonna happen.  I need to find the balance . . . the happy medium . . . so my day feels solidly GOOD by the end.


I tried to achieve that yesterday by writing myself a reasonable list.  As I said, there were only 9 things on it, but I did get 5 1/2 of them crossed off.  Plus, I kept note of the items I did that weren't on the list.  So, following, are yesterday's accomplishments.  Items in red are those on the list, items in blue were the extras (but accomplishments, nonetheless).


(Yes, having just gone through the list and color-coded the tasks, it DOES help to list those things done that weren't on the list . . . shows me that even tho I didn't get everything done, I DID get a lot done.  Now I'll go back through and put in comments where required.)

1. Vacuumed flies upstairs.  Gawd, the flies!  Made some progress downstairs, but once I hauled the vacuum down and left the master bedroom for the day, it seemed like they tripled up there.  Yuck!
2. Vacuumed flies & cobwebs in kitchen.  I never would have gotten around to vacuuming the cobwebs that were taunting me from the high ceilings if I hadn't had to vacuum flies, so that's a bonus!
3. Dishes.
4. Vacuumed flies in utility / entry room.
5. Seed to wild birds.  'Tis the season!  It's so nice to see the bossy Blue Jays return to the feeder outside my kitchen window.  Chickadees and Juncos, too.
6. Tisdale.  I included this just as a reminder to tell you about this great, unbelievably CHEAP wine I've discovered!  Here, it sells for only $3.79 a bottle - in the big city, it's just $2.79 a bottle.  And, it's GOOD!  So, yeah, the vineyard is Tisdale.  It's a Californian winery.  So far, I've tried the Pinot Noir (not bad but nothing special) and the Pinot Grigio.  The Pinot Grigio is WONDERFUL!!!  I just love it!  I have a bottle of Chardonnay in the refrig but haven't gotten into it yet.  One of the clerks at the liquor store told me that the Chardonnay was entered in a blind taste test alongside some very high-end Chardonnays . . . and came in second!  So, see:  a bonus to being financially destitute . . . discovering fantastic wine that I never would have purchased before (being a bit snobbish when it comes to alcohol)!  But, desperate times call for desperate measures . . . and all that rot.  I've been missing my favorite cocktail (Whiskey-7) as I can't afford that anymore, but I figure saving up my change (NOT kidding!) for a good, cheap bottle of wine to treat myself is okay.  The happiness it brings me in relation to the expense is exponential.  ;)
7. Hanging baskets, houseplants.  The summer's hanging baskets are looking pathetic and need some TLC before coming in for the winter.  I started taking care of that process yesterday and then got some of the houseplants watered and fertilized while I was at it.
8. Vacuumed flies in kitchen.
9. Scrub kitchen sink.  Once the dishes were out of it, the now-visible sad state of the sink REQUIRED this!
10. Put together eBay post for canoe I'm selling for friends (which took WAY longer than anticipated).  Dunno why this always takes longer than you expect.  BUT, I've had 43 views, and 4 people are watching it . . . which is surprisingly wonderful!
11. Vacuumed flies in utility / entry room.
12. Tripped on a rug and damn near killed myself.  Just thought I'd share that for comic relief.  Just call me 'Grace'.
13. Cleaned litter box.  Had to be done.  1 down, 2 to go.
14. Scrubbed downstairs toilet.  Ditto.  Had to be done.  Needs a 2nd go-round for hard water stains, tho.
15. Cleaned up kitchen a bit.  But there's more to do.
16. Wrestled 853 pound ping-pong table out of pickup and into garage.  Last week, a ping-pong table was advertised for "free if you haul".  I LOVE playing ping-pong, and I've always wanted a table.  So, I brought the truck into town and met the gal getting rid of it.  It was in good shape, just older . . . and weighed, I kid you not, probably about 200-300 pounds!  They'd moved it into their walk-out basement before they'd finished the rest of the house and landscaping.  Now, 2nd story on the house and landscaping complete, there was NO easy way to get it out of the lower story and up one full story of landscaping to the pickup.  I'd asked Papa Pea if he'd assist me with the job, and I was heading back out to my truck to go get him (having seen that I DID want the table) when I spied . . . two contractors in the right place at the WRONG time (for them)!  It was PURE coincidence that they were there . . . working on the adjacent property.  I'd graduated high school with one of them, and the other had come out to look at some work that needed doing when the ex and I were building Swamp River Ridge.  Desperation over-coming shyness (I'd hefted a corner of the table and knew that Dad and I would have a HARD time moving the thing), I called out, "Hey, I need some muscle!  You guys wouldn't want to move a ping-pong table for me, would you?"  How could they say no?  ;)  Seeing how much THEY struggled, I'm actually not sure Dad and I could have done it on our own.  At one point, while trying to dead-lift it up the full story from the lawn below to the driveway above (over, as I said, lovely landscaping), the younger guy said to the older, "How's your knee?"  Oh, great . . . .  But, soon it was in the back of my truck, and I'd offered my gracious thanks and set to strapping it in.  Back at the office and really realizing what a chore that had been . . . and how I'd have been stuck had they not been there . . . I set to the task of thank-yous (see image at the end of this list).  I put together a set of my newest cards for Main Contractor Guy (well, more for his wife, I suspect) and a couple of - ha! - beers (a partial case of which Papa Pea had just gifted me with) for the guy I graduated with.  Handmade notes went into both of them, and then I carried the bag down to the floral shop where I sell so many of my cards.  The woman who owns it is the wife of Guy I Went to School With.  Done - appreciation expressed!  Now that I think about it, though, I should do the same for the woman getting rid of the ping-pong table (cards, that is, not beer) since the guys DID have to step on a ground-crawling planting of cedar (?) in order to get the behemoth to my truck.  Finally getting same OUT of my truck and into the garage before the forecast rain yesterday (which didn't happen) went much better than I expected, though.  Granted, the frame is a bit (okay, LOT) more bent than it was a couple of days ago, but I think that would have been a given before the table found its permanent placement, anyway.  But, aside from cracking my sore knee from that fall earlier in the summer, the job was done without personal injury.  That said, it ain't gonna MOVE from its current position until I have LOTS of muscle around again!  (My gawd, that was a long explanation!  Are you still with me?????) 
17. Extra poultry chores, hauled feed, etc.
18. Temporary fix for garage door.  I think I purposefully avoided mentioning this earlier, but I bashed in one of the carriage doors of the garage last winter while plowing.  I blame it on fog.  For those many months now, I've been looking at the gaping space at the top and knowing that I need to winch it in before snow (or more rain) falls . . . and before I can hire a proper fix done.  Anyway, I did that yesterday.  It's not completely winter-protected yet, but it IS better than it was 24 hours ago.
19. Cut, stacked wood.   Thanks to me letting the chain get over-dull and despite Papa Pea's much-appreciated attempt at sharpening it, I think that chain is done for.  Chainsawing is such a dangerous job that when it just "doesn't feel right", you need to STOP.  Such was the case yesterday.  So, I didn't get much cut up, but what I did cut got hauled and stacked.  And, that's one of my new woodcutting rules:  no matter how much or how little I cut in a single go, it must be hauled under cover and stacked.  Not much sense allowing freshly cut logs to soak up any new rainfall!
20. Searched, searched, searched for missing audio book tape.   I got through ALL the boxes of Paperwork To Sort with no sign of the cassette (NOR my cellphone cord, I might mention) plus looked underneath each piece of furniture on the lower level of the house (did find a LOT of Maisy's tennis balls, though, and TONS of dirt & dust)!  Nothin'.  Today I'll pull the cushions off all the chairs & couches and go through the stuff I've Hauled In & Dropped in the utility room.  Then, it's upstairs to continue the search.

Geez, what a long post!  Who knew I could talk so much about my chores!  ;)  Just think what I could have gotten done had I set to the next project at hand instead of taking the time to write it all down!  Ha!

Miscellaneous

In the past convoluted few weeks, I can't remember to whom I've told what.  Particularly, this important piece of information:  the ex moved!

When he returned from supporting Explorer Guy on his solo attempt of ascending Denali in January and our relationship was still ignorantly good (i.e., I didn't know about the affair and had yet to process the fact that he and my ex-dear friend had decided to see each other), he said that he was thinking of going back to Talkeetna, Alaska . . . to live.  And now, perhaps precipitated by the ugliness of the past few weeks (?), he's made the move.  Supposedly.  I think.  (He was to have left last Monday - driving - but, since I'm no longer in contact with him, I have no idea if he did or not . . . although there's no evidence to the contrary.)

ANYWAY, one of my dear friends dubbed last Sunday (the ex's original departure date) as Sayonara Sunday.  ;)  And, I received two WONDERFUL packages of support for the auspicious occasion.  The first came in the form of this lovely bouquet of flowers hand-delivered to me in my office by the owner of the local flower shop.

THANK YOU, sweet Jean!  xo

One of the benefits of living in a small town is having people "know" you, know your tastes.  This arrangement was comprised of a simple wicker basket plus the flowers and foliage.  No frou-frou bows or ribbons.  Perfectly "me", thanks to Jean and the flower shop owner!

The second unexpected pick-me-up arrived a week ago yesterday.  I'd been told to look for a package arriving in my business mail box.  What I DIDN'T expect was such a BIG package with FRAGILE labels all over it!  As far as I can tell (more on that later), the box contained three separate goodies (yes, I ripped into it at the post office!).  Here's the one I've unpacked and been using all week:

"I'm not saying she's a slut.  Well, okay, yes, I am."

Ha!  Why not fight fire with . . . humor?!  I LOVE it!  Thank you, Erin.  :)  It's my new office mug.

Now, regarding the remainder of this large package . . . I am reserving unpacking the rest of it for Down Days.  Difficult Days.  Days that I need a pick-me-up.  Does that make sense?  Erin, I *hope* you don't mind that I'm stretching it out!  For those of you on the edges of your seats, though, I will reveal what sneak peeks have shown:  a voodoo doll, complete with pins (ha!), and . . . this is hysterical! . . . a wedding ring COFFIN!!!!  So, stayed tuned for upcoming pictures of those . . . as soon as I take them out to "play with" 'em . . . just like a kid at Christmas!  :)

I have received SO many comments and e-mails and wonderful, supportive cards (thank you, my "personal doctor", you know I lurv you!) in these past couple of weeks.  I haven't responded to any of them yet, though, because, in order to do so, I have to go "back there", mentally, to "that place".  And, when I'm having good days, I just DON'T WANT TO relive these past weeks!  I know you understand that.  But, PLEASE, know how APPRECIATIVE and GRATEFUL and THANKFUL I am for EACH and EVERY ONE OF YOU!  Yes, I mean YOU, sitting there in front of your computer or reading this on your iPhone.  YOU.  Thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.  I don't know WHAT I'd do without such overwhelming support.  xoxoxo

Peace out.  :)

A List of To-Dos

I posted notice at my office yesterday that I'd be working from home today, but the truth of the matter is that I needed a mental health day.  And, actually, I was in at the office on Wednesday, anyway, this week . . . my normal "work from home" day.  With my folks gone to the big city for the day and their dog, Zoey, being soooo old now, I think we all three wanted someone around to look after her.

Yesterday, though, I was just exhausted and flat-out ick/blah/poop.  One of my "bad days", post Recent Divorce News.  That said, I still managed to get a couple of solid hours done at the office . . . made MUCH better by a spontaneous visit from The Peanut and her mama.  I swear, that woman as a 6th sense and KNOWS when I might need a pick-me-up.  Either that or her timing is just really good.  ;)  Anyway, they had just gone grocery shopping and splurged on a small package of marshmallow Peeps . . . and brought me the last one.  That caused ME to accuse the 3-year old Peanut of being "a Peep-Eater", and so we ALL giggled over that for ages!  Nothin' like a little love from your favorite little one to brighten your day!

The Peanut's mama is just days away from bringing baby brother into the world.  She's tired and ready.  Her projected due date is April 15th, but, the following Monday being a full moon, she's hoping he might arrive on the 18th.  Time will tell, and we're all anxiously awaiting the news that his arrival is imminent!

Back to my day, though, I've made a list (another one of my lists!) of what I'd like to accomplish today to make me feel good.  You know how when your house gets to the point (in dirtiness, messiness) that you just don't FEEL good about it?  That's the point I'm at.  So, in to particular order, this is what I hope to accomplish today.  I'll update as progress is made.

• Dishes / Kitchen Clean-Up
• Groceries Away in Pantry
• Vacuuming
• Dining Room Table Cleaned Off
• Wood Pile
• Deck Clearing
• Chores (Regular Homestead).  Is there ANYTHING more disgusting or stinky than the poultry / chicken / barnyard this time of year?!
• Birds (Aviary)
• "Fun" Office Work
• Office Work
• Bathroom Sink  I won't even tell you how long it's been since I cleaned the downstairs bathroom sink, but I will say that I'd almost forgotten that it was pure white in color and not a dirty beige.  GROSS!

Additions:

• Brushed teeth, washed face, got dressed.  (Hey, you've gotta start SOMEWHERE!)
• Refilled weekly pill/vitamin container.
• Vacuumed some of the springtime hatch of flies upstairs.  Twice.  (As y'all know, this is NOT a one-time-and-its-done-job!)
• Batch of laundry into dryer.  (Still can't access clothesline due to snow!)
• Batch of laundry into the washer.  Opened last bottle of laundry soap, so note to self:  make more laundry detergent.
• Scooped and scraped surfacing dog poop.
• Cleaned out back of pickup truck from winter's accumulation of junk.
• Fixed (kind of - it's gonna require a Big Fix, tho, eventually) pantry door and installed spring on it so it stays closed.
• Ate a healthy lunch.  I love tabouli, but I've never made it myself.  (I picked it up at the Co-op yesterday.)  Does anyone have a fantastic recipe for it?
• 2 Loads of laundry out of dryer, sorted, folded & put away.  Its ironing will have to wait for another day.
• Load of laundry into dryer.  It's a gorgeous day today, so I've gotta make use of the solar charge for running these large appliances!
• Ate a healthy dinner.

Not Much (But I Sure Wrote A Lot!)

I haven't written lately because . . . there's not much to report!  And, too, truth be told, my past week was SO fruitless - regarding getting anything done at the office - that I've been overly protective and selfish about my time.  So goes it here at home, too.  I'm already nearly halfway through "my Sunday" now and find myself feeling anxious about how few hours I have left.  I know that's so self-defeating, though, too, that I really want to find a way to curb it (the anxiety).


I did have a good day here yesterday and got a few things accomplished.  But, there are SO MANY THINGS that I want to get done that I'm really needing a week at home.  And, in reality, I guess there's no good reason why I shouldn't do JUST THAT.  I'm not exactly over-run by walk-in customers at the gallery right now.  Even taking my not-tourist-friendly location OUT of the equation, it's just not that time of year in our tourist town.  And, I got SO LITTLE done on my two current graphic & web design jobs last week that, perhaps, I should just work from home for the next week or so.  I'll bet I get more done from here than were I in the office!  ;)  But then, I worry that I'll fall into the trap of, "ahhh, why go into the office today when I can work from home"?  I.e., I don't want to LOSE potential customers because I'm not in the office during my posted open hours.  Sigh.  What to do?

An aside, I realize that writing to you here, sharing my current feelings here on the blog IS actually helping alleviate my stress and put things into a more do-able perspective.  So, see (I say to myself), I SHOULDN'T stay away from blogging for fear that it takes me away from other things that need be done!  In the Big Picture, it helps!


* * * * * * *


I think all of us who live outside of town (where the now-warm sun melts everything between the asphalt and it) are now wishing that Mother Nature HADN'T given us that reprieve last week!  The temperature dropped nearly 40 degrees in the span of 24 hours on the last day of the warm, warm weather, and all of that melting snow turned to treacherous ICE.  And, I don't just mean ice as in "oh, it's a bit icy out".  I mean ice as in "I haven't been able to drive all the way HOME because the vehicles (not to MENTION people!) can get any traction to drive on it"!


(And yes, this had a lot to do with my week.)


On the last warm day, I couldn't get the car up the hill at the bottom of the driveway on my way home.  I was able to leave it parked on the incline and well off the road, but, in order to get around to the back of the car to let the dogs out, I LITERALLY had to hang on to, first, the open door, then the wheel well over the rear wheel, and then the rear bumper to keep myself from sliding away from the car as I lifted the back hatch to let them out.  Figuring I'd bring the truck back to the car to haul everything up to the house (of course, I'd bought groceries in my way home), I inched my way over to the soft snow at the side of the drive and slogged home.  (I'll have to measure it some time, but I'll bet the driveway is close to a 1/4 of a mile long.)


I got the truck started and headed back out the driveway where I pulled alongside the car, door to door so that I'd have something to hold on to as I transferred the day's worth of accumulated stuff from the Yaris to the 1-Ton.  After that was done and the car closed up, I drove down to the end of the driveway and turned the truck around.


As I headed up the problem hill in the big truck and squeezed past the car, the still-soft and wet snow at the side grabbed at my wheels.  No problem, gravity was working with me, and so I'd just back down the hill for another go at it.


Unfortunately, the wet snow and iced-over hill was no match for gravity, and, as I slowly backed down the hill, I was pulled even farther into the ditch.  I worked and worked at it (what time was it now - probably near 10:00 PM and very dark) until I finally gave up.  I would deal with it in the morning.  So then, with my large LL Bean tote packed full and groceries in arm, I ever-so-slowly worked my way back over to the wet snow at the side of the drive and headed back up towards the house.


It was that night that the mercury dropped so precipitously (I love that word!), and the snow was like cement in the morning.  After attempting to drive the truck out again in the light of day, I knew getting it unstuck would be no small feat, and so I decided to wait to attack it come Monday, when I'd be at home for the whole day.  I'd half expected to find that the car had slid to the bottom of the driveway's hill that morning:  it was SO icy where I'd parked it.  But, fortunately, it was where I'd left it, and I carefully backed it down to the flat surface and headed in to work.


When I'd left the house that morning for my hike out to the vehicles, I loaded the toboggan with my things AND a 5-gallon pail full of ashes.  I hoped to spread them on the driveway's hill that night in order to be able to drive the Yaris all the way in to the house.  I can't remember what kept me late in town that night (seems like there was something going on almost every night last week), but it was about 11:00 PM and the wind was a howlin' when I, again, made it halfway up that little hill before the wheels were spinning in place and I was beginning to slide, uncontrolled, backwards.


I got the car stopped and began the task of spreading the ashes:  not an easy one on the slanted-at-a-30-degree-angle skating rink of a hill.  Aided by the wind, my good town coat and good mukluks were covered in ash, but I had just finished the job when the PistenBully* (used for grooming the snowmobile trail that runs parallel to the winter driveway) stopped at the bottom of the driveway, its light flashing brilliantly.

Image taken from www.pistenbullyusa.com.

 * I SO want & need one of these "toys"!!!

The driver opened the door and hollered something to me, but I couldn't hear him for the wind.  I slipped and slid my way down to him to hear him repeat, "You should have ice skates on!"


Was I stuck, he wanted to know?  No, I explained, I was just putting down ashes so I could, maybe, drive all the way in.  What about the truck, he wanted to know?  Oh, well, YEAH, the truck was stuck, but I'd deal with that on Monday.  "Want to pull it out," he asked?  "REALLY?!  Yeah, that would be WONDERFUL!"  (And, double bonus, I had the keys for the truck on me, so I didn't have to ask him to wait while I drove - or walked! - up to the house to get them.)


While he got the machine positioned to accept the tow rope, I slipped it over the hitch of the truck (I ALWAYS keep it and/or a tow chain with me!).  Then, I was behind the driver's seat, and he threw the PistenBully into gear.


But . . . the truck held fast.  He pulled again.  The PistenBully, with its studded treads, slipped and swung on the ice.  Nothin'.  He backed up and then gunned it:  WHAM (as tension struck the tow rope)!  The PistenBully swam on the ice, but the treads finally caught, and I started moving . . . the frozen snow g-r-i-n-d-i-n-g against the wheels and raised plow and every other part of the truck it touched.  Two more tries, and I was finally free, nearly sliding into the back of the PistenBully as the tires locked on the glaze-iced hill.


Seeing what it had taken to pull me out, I realized that I NEVER would have gotten myself out by shoveling.  And, more to the point, the truck had been encased, for all intents and purposes, in frozen snow NO DIFFERENT THAN poured concrete.  When I'd gotten stuck (in the warm weather), the soft snow had fallen in all around the wheels and axles.  Then, when the temp had dropped down into the single digits that night, the freezing snow had encased the lower 1/3 of the truck.  BUT, the truck was FREE, and B.V. (long-time PistenBully / trail groomer) was my new best friend!


B.V. went on his way, lights flashing, and I left the truck running while I battled the wind back up to the car.  Taking a few runs at it, I crested that first little hill of the driveway and then stopped the car on the level ground and headed back down the ice to the truck.  Through ALL of this, I had managed to not fall once . . . but I did so then.  Fortunately, it wasn't in front of B.V. and I was moving so slowly, anyway, that I really just sat down.  I felt my right quad pull, but that was the only strain.


I then drove the truck up the ash-covered hill and parked it, too, on the level ground.  Then I drove the car in to the house, parking it on the top of the other little hill that is at the top of the yard (knowing I wouldn't be able to drive out of it if I parked in my usual spot at or in the garage).


(Is this the longest blog post known to man?  I'm beginning to think so!)


I've just remembered:  that had been Friday night, and I was home late because I nannied for Bundle of Joy while her mama worked and her daddy was out of town.  Right!


So, Saturday, I slipped and slid my way in to town in the little Yaris.  That night, I was again at Bundle of Joy's house, and fluffy snow began to fall during the evening.  As I headed home, the snow coming down hard enough that I was blinded if I used the headlights' high beams, I realized that the cold, cold snow falling into the skating rink roads (scoured to an even smoother surface by the previous day's winds) was only making things WORSE.  I lost traction a time or two on the main road and, as the car traveled down the road at a 45 degree angle, I glanced at the speedometer to see if I was driving too fast for the conditions.  I was going only 15 mph . . . and losing traction.  That wasn't good.


I was about half a mile from the house driveway when the good little Yaris could go no further.  After four attempts, I parked the car (sliding backwards yet again) as safely as I could on the side of the road.  Knowing I had a hike ahead of me over treacherous ground, I looked at my bags, trying to limit to the bare essentials what I had to carry in.  Ironically, the happiness that I'd felt earlier in the day when I'd picked up my two new computers (yayyyy!) quickly dwindled as I realized that I had to pack the new laptop and its accessories.  I couldn't leave them in the car.  (And, this little sucker is HEAVY!)  At least I hadn't brought home groceries again!


I unloaded the dogs, strapped on my headlamp (I never leave home w/o it!), and headed into the snowy, snowy night towards home.  It was 13 degrees when I got home:  fortunately, I always have warm enough clothing on (or, at least, with!) during the winter for these unexpected . . . or do I expect them by now!? . . . situations.


Sunday morning showed about 3" of super fluffy snow covering the ice . . . which tended to make one forget the nastiness that lurked beneath it!  I loaded the truck and drove down to where I'd left the car.  While I left it running, parked in the middle of the road, I started up the car and drove it back down the winter driveway to a flat surface near a trailhead parking lot.  Then I slipped and slid back to the truck and drove it to the car, transferring the dogs and my bags for my day in town.  Then, I stowed and locked it in the same parking lot in the farthest plowed corner.


I made it another half mile or so out to the main road before I lost control of the car on a gradual rise in the road that couldn't have been greater than 5 degrees, if that.  On the up side, it was super easy and FUN to accidentally whip the car around in a 180 and head back towards home!  ;)


So, undoing all that I'd just done, I got the truck going again and eased it out.  I unloaded the dogs from the car and into the truck.  Same with the day's bags.  Then I parked the car where the truck had been and headed, gingerly, into town.


The car sits in that spot still, and I'm not thrilled about having it be in such a remote location that gets a lot of attention from passing snowmobilers.  Maybe I'll try to get it up to the house (or, at least, the bottom of the driveway) today, but I don't think I'll have much luck.  I suspect I'll need to wait until the weather changes and/or those couple of inches of snow compact on the hills to make them less slippery.


I was fortunate enough to be able to drive the 4-wheel drive heavy 1-Ton all the way in to the yard on Sunday night.


All of these extra-late nights due to the winter conditions have meant later mornings and much less time in my office.  So, I decided to change my office hours during the winter, and I posted such in the building and on my business FB page on Sunday.  From New Year's on until the roads are easily passable (end of April??), I will be in-office only 4 days a week.  I'll work from home the 5th day.  I think this is reasonable, especially since I'm not getting any walk-in traffic right now for the gallery.


So, whew!  That's where things stand.  For any of you brave enough to have slogged through this entire post, thank you!!


And so, with that and a clearer mind, it's outside I go to tackle the woodpile.  :)

I'm Up!

Good morning, friends!

Well, even though the alarms didn't quite work this morning, I'm still feeling like I've had a successful start:  I'm certainly never up and going at this time, normally!

I did follow my own advice with a pre-bed routine last night and even extended it to using Peace & Calming essential oil on both my heating pad and my pillow . . . something I always used to do for the ex if he needed a particularly good night's sleep or TLC or whatever.  (Why is it that we don't, normally, think of those niceties for OURSELVES?!)  And, I fell asleep relaxed, lights out at 10:24.


I set the bedside clock for 6:45 and the one across the room for 7:00.  I don't even remember turning off the first one (no surprise), but as I was jumping back into bed after turning off the 7:00 one, I said (to you!) out loud, "But, it's so CHILLY!"  That was my excuse.  ;)  I got out of bed then around 7:24.  Hmmmm . . . 10:24 to 7:24?  Maybe I need to change my sleeping schedule to accommodate a solid 9 hours of sleep?

Two other "tricks" that I think will help hopping out of bed in the AM are to have my big, cozy bathrobe waiting for me at the foot of the bed (it's in the laundry), as well as my slippers (they were downstairs).  And, I REALLY liked Ovidia's suggestion about having a time-started coffee pot up in the bedroom.  That just sounds so . . . cozy!  Waking to the smell of freshly-brewed coffee?  And UPSTAIRS, no going down into the kitchen?  What could be better?  'Course, being off-grid, I never use the electric coffee pot anymore (stove-top percolator only), but it might just be worth it.  Plus, I'll turn off the heating element as soon as I'm up, and that will make a huge difference.  Annnnnd, I need to put fresh batteries in the bedside radio.  Usually, when I want to get up and going, I'll turn that on with the first alarm and it helps.  Currently, the batteries are shot.  So, for tomorrow, bathrobe & slippers, coffee pot upstairs, and batteries in the radio.


With that and although I'd meant to write a longer post, I'm going to jump in the shower.  Yeah, I'm off my schedule, but this is a learning process, right?  And, we have to start somewhere!  THANKS for listening to this drivel and being my cheerleaders!


:)  xo - Chicken Mama



 

The Weekend!

Hello, friends!  

Sorry I kept you waiting for the Chicken Mama Designs Christmas sale and open house report, but you'll forgive me if I was a little exhausted and needed a couple days off.  Matter of fact, I hardly opened my computer these past two days.

Saturday went WELL!  A good, solid "well".  It wasn't fantastic, and I didn't sell any of the big ticket items, but I sold quite a lot of cards . . . enough to cover what I paid My Girl for her FANTASTIC help on Thursday & Friday (thank you, thank you, thank you, my dear!) and then some.  To my disappointment, the calendars did not arrive (by 11:30 on Saturday) as I'd hoped, but I got a lot of pre-orders . . . which strikes me as kind of bizarre since no one's seen them yet!  But, as my oldest girlfriend said when placing her order via e-mail, "I love your photography, so I know I'll like it!"  I'm hoping they'll be waiting for me today when I get to work . . . at which time I'll video it and post that for you all to see!  I'm super, super excited about seeing them!

One of the reasons I probably didn't sell as much as I might have was that I didn't have time to get prices on everything (duh)!  Folks who were very interested in particular prints did ask how much they cost, but I'm sure others who didn't know me didn't ask.  So, putting all the very final touches on the gallery is on my list today.  At least I got it all looking good via "smoke and mirrors", and that was the ultimate with-time-constraints goal.

Thinking about not getting things to look how I ULTIMATELY wanted them to look makes me think about how I normally would have REALLY been stressing about that and the steadying influence My Girl had on me during those 48 hours previous to the sale.  Had she not been there, I certainly wouldn't have taken time for meals.  I wouldn't have worried about keeping my mood up for anyone.  I would have been head-down, nose-to-the-grindstone as I have (always!) been in the past.  And, how has that worked for me?  Ummm, not so well.  So, because I wanted to be "up" for her, because I knew she needed to eat (therefore, I ate, too), because she kept telling me how proud she was of me and asking, "Do you REALIZE what you're doing here?!!" . . . I was kept on an even keel.  While I don't know what I would have done without the truly lovely sidewalk sandwich board she made (to draw people in), I know that the greater assist was her keeping me grounded.  If we all had an (adopted) daughter like that, the world would be a better place!

I know, too, that the sale provided a lot of free advertising.  People who stopped in but didn't buy assured me that they'd spread the word about my little gallery.  And, once news really gets around town about Chicken Mama Designs, that will help.  Out of town friends who didn't know exactly where I'm located (and hadn't grabbed the address) weren't helped much by asking around town.  Since I'm tucked into a set of pre-existing business offices, it wasn't like the locals had seen a changing of the guard at one of the shops in town.  So, more advertising will help that, too.  And, to tell the truth, I purposefully neglected to do a lot of local advertising because I was afraid I was going to be woefully (un)prepared.  And, had the 14 new large pieces & canvases I'd ordered NOT arrived in time, I would have been.  So, six of one, half a dozen of another.  In the end, I feel it was a SOLID START to becoming known as a new business and one of the many galleries in town.  End of story.  :)

(Re-reading this before I post, I've remembered that I also snagged the confirmation of one expected web design job AND two brand new ones at the open house!!!!!)

After a good lie-in and lots of mindless movie time (watched 'Leap Year' and cried - I'm so damn mushy) on Sunday, I went back into town.  Had to put the common area of the office building back to rights and clean up a bit.  Returned the rented coffee carafes to the local coffee shop, etc.  

That night was the annual Christmas concert in town (primarily songs from Handel's 'Messiah'), and I had an unexpected treat taking care of Bundle of Joy for a while before the concert.  Her folks had just driven the 3 1/2 hours up from his maternal family's in north central Minnesota where they'd been celebrating a matriarch's 80th birthday.  Bundle of Joy's mama sings in the choir each year and needed to go right to the church, but Dad had to get the dog home and get the fire going, etc. after having been gone since Friday night.  Talking to them on the phone to plan when to meet up (I'd been planning on sitting with Dad and Bundle of Joy to help keep her entertained - she'll be 1 year old in 8 days), I learned of his rush-rush plans and said, "Oh!  Why don't you leave Bundle of Joy with me?  That way, she won't have to spend another hour in the car and can get a little of her energy out!"  With a huge amount of appreciation and relief, her daddy immediately accepted, and I told her to meet me at Mama & Papa Pea's house (which would be a lot nicer than my office).  So, Mama Pea got some unexpected baby time (which we ALL love, right, ladies?!), and Bundle of Joy and I both got dinner, too!  As Papa Pea returned from the garage with The Yellow Chair and I placed Bundle of Joy in it, Mom said to Dad, "Who would have ever guessed that we'd have such a revolving group of little girls* sitting at our table in this?!"  

(*For no particular reason, all the little ones I've taken care of for long periods of time have been girls, but soon (yayyyy!) there will be a little baby brother arriving to The Peanut - around tax day in the early spring!)


The story of The Yellow Chair is a neat one.  Mama Pea will have to weigh in on where it came from, but, when I was little, they had this chair for me.  It's kind of like a high chair . . . but more like a bar stool in height and without a tray.  The back is low and curved, like a captain's chair, and it slides right up to the table . . . at a perfect height for a little one.  The seat isn't large enough to encompass a tukhus like mine, but a petite, skinny person could probably fit into it.  Anyway, I'm not sure why Dad's always kept it (sentimentality?  again, Mom, please weigh in), but after it was clear that I wouldn't be having children, I'm sure my folks were disappointed that it would never serve a new generation.  But, as the wonderfully silver lining to that particular cloud, I know I'd never be able to be auntie, nanny, and Bopee to so many little ones had I had my own . . . and I thrill at the relationship I have now with all of them.  :)

Yesterday, I was a completely lazy slug for the majority of the day.  Even though I woke thinking, "The world is my oyster!" (or, more accurately, "Swamp River Ridge is my oyster!"), I couldn't quite get myself moving until well into the afternoon.  About all I got done was the kitchen cleaned up from the week's accumulation of stuff dumped, the dishes done, and two pillar candles made for Christmas gifts.  Oh, and a healthy dinner (Taco Appetizer) made for myself.  Too, I got outside and tried to do some clean-up shoveling, but, at 5 degrees, the packed snow wasn't budgin'.  Fed the wild birds and took care of chicken / goose chores (hey, Dad, those chickens haven't laid a single egg yet!!!).  Unloaded the car from the extra stuff I'd emptied from my office prior to the sale, and finally shoveled in front of the garage so I could park the car inside.  Drove the Yaris up and down the driveway to warm it up after sitting in the cold for a 24 hours and before it sat in the garage overnight.  Good way to get the dogs warmed up and out for some exercise, too, as they ran alongside.


Then, knowing I wanted some inside fires and needing to cut some large pieces of birch to fit in the woodstoves (vs. the size they're cut to to fit in the huge outside furnace), I argued with the chainsaws for a while.  I just CANNOT get the larger one started.  I'll have to bring that to my technician (Dad) again.  (If you ever want to know how to warm up - and end up sweating and panting - in 5 degree weather, just struggle with starting chainsaws.  It'll heat you RIGHT up!)

After refilling the gas & bar oil and then flooding (that's a negative) the chainsaw, I finally got the small one going.  Ahhh, the satisfaction of that blue smoke FINALLY filling the workshop!  Nothin' like it!  ;)  I didn't cut long - only until my arms and back protested for an end.  Then, I split wood.  I LOVE splitting frozen wood!  SO damn easy and rewarding!  :)  (Just re-read that, and, for someone who doesn't know, that could have sounded like sarcasm.  I'm actually completely serious:  dry, frozen wood splits incredibly cleanly and easily.)


Anyway, after accomplishing all that outside stuff in the time it went from afternoon daylight to completely dark, I headed inside for the night.  I was considering watching my latest Netflix movie, 'The White Countess', before bed but, it being 11:00 already by the time I finished the dishes, I opted for a cup of tea here in the kitchen rocker and a couple more chapters of my latest audio book.


Now, today, back at it in town!  I'll post pictures when I download 'em (at my office).

Thanks!

Thanks so much to each and every one of you who have buoyed me up these past few days, getting ready for today's open house.  I closed up at 12:30 last night and headed home, getting to bed around 2:00.  But, I'm feeling pretty good about how the gallery looks.  My office?  That's another story!  Hopefully I can throw some spit and polish at it this morning before the first customer arrives.

Hope YOU have a good one, whatever you're doing today.  :)

- Chicken Mama

T Minus 48 and Counting . . . .

So, the first annual (yes, I realize that's a grammatical contradiction, but you know what I mean) Chicken Mama Designs sale is 48 hours away (minus 21 minutes as I write).  My Girl really stepped up to the plate with my delegation yesterday and already has the carafes of coffee and accompanying sugar (you provide your own cream) and disposable cups from the local coffee shop lined up.  I'm still waiting to hear confirmation on the cake and a Christmas wreath and some pointsettias.  She also took on the other big job I threw her way yesterday:  painting up a temporary sandwich board for the sidewalk.  The real, professionally-printed one won't be ready by then, but I feel that I need SOMETHING out there to show customers and drive-bys that they have the right place.  So, I will cut some clean Plywood this morning and slap it together with a couple of hinges and then throw some white, green, and red paint into the truck.  Then, after work tonight, she'll set to creating a decent sign for me.

Okay, I'm back.  Was multi-tasking again.  Got an update from My Girl, had a quick FB catch-up with a dear iFriend (or maybe it should be eFriend?), and took a booking to nanny.

I'm battling the You're Wasting Time Demon by remaining here in the kitchen rocker, blogging.  But, I know I feel better when I DO take the time and write.  Besides, it's probably a good way for me to get some of the things that are filling my brain OUT!  A way to organize my day, perhaps?


I know I'm not going to get into town until later than I'd like today.  But, as important as prepping for the sale is, so are the little ones in my life.  And, I like to give them all advent calendars at the beginning of December.  The Peanut got hers at her birthday party the night before Thanksgiving, but Baby Girl and Bundle of Joy haven't received theirs yet.  I will wrap them and drop them off this morning.  I know, I know, I've said that I'm not religious, and I'm not . . . but my maternal grandma always sent me advent calendars each year, and I just LOVED looking forward to opening a new window each morning, so I'm carrying on the tradition.  I even like to have one here on the refrig at home, but I'm now o-u-t of 'em, after these last three have been distributed.  I usually buy a good selection of them online from Germany every couple of years.  But, like I said, I'm out.  I'll resupply after the holidays - and maybe get them at a discount.  BTW, Mama Pea has the most hysterical, almost obscene (in size) advent calendar.  It COVERS her refrigerator!  Ha!  You'll have to ask her to post photos of it.  :)


Hmmm, apparently you CAN teach cats!  Whenever I write here from my laptop, it's always been a battle with the kitties who want to jump up on it.  Dosie just v-e-r-y carefully hopped up onto my lap, stepping on only the corner of the computer and then settling herself up on my forearms as I'm typing!  Good girl!  Still . . . this is . . . very . . . impractical . . . !!  And I can't think.  OFF, you go!


Okay.  Seems like there was something else I was going to mention, but I think I will sign off.  I still need to jump into the shower, at least long enough to wash my hair.  Need to wrap those calendars, too.  And cut the Plywood and hinge the two pieces together.  And do chores.  But THEN I should be ready!  ;)


P.S.  Sorry I haven't posted any pictures.  Haven't had the time to take any!  Although, I did take a couple last night in my office.  Will get those up . . . sometime!

End of the Day

I'm pooped.  Tired.  Done for.

I'm sitting here in the sunroom, cup of hot Yogi Tea on the arm of the couch, one flat cat (which is how they look when they're flat-out asleep) on the gently swaying hanging bed, and the fire quietly flickering away in front of me.\


I got a good bit done today, considering my late start.  Didn't get as much progress as I'd hoped for, but that seems to fall under the 'Of Course' category.

I spent a good bit of time outside in the afternoon as the temperature dropped.  Cutting a part of the overgrown grass in the front yard when my breath comes out in steamy puffs is MY kind o' lawn mowing!  ;)  (Remember, I . . . hate . . . heat.)  Also got a small pine tree cut down that had died earlier in the summer and had been glaring at me, all brown and crispy, for TOO many weeks.  Moved some rocks and spent a bit of time hauling some firewood into the house.  Did some pre-wood-burning-season maintenance on the outdoor furnace, too, and started cleaning up some of the scrap piles around the big wood pile.

I'll insert the picture once I'm at work tomorrow (the photo's on that computer), but I got another load of firewood:  six cords of maple, this time.  There's an old bachelor who's lived here his whole life who tends to "look out for" the single women in the area.  He's been logging maple on the Rez for a couple of years, and he gave me a ridiculously good deal on 6 cords.  Another friend (Bundle of Joy's papa, for those of you long-time readers) was the middle man for the transaction and explained to the almost-an-old-timer that, due to my divorce / financial situation, I wouldn't be able to pay him until later in October.  Word is that he blustered, "Hell, I don't give a sh*t about that!"  What can you say that properly encompasses goodwill like that?  :)

Speaking of Bundle of Joy's daddy, I've had a couple of sneaky little wood angels steadily working on the many cords of wood waiting out there to be cut up.  Twice now, J has come with a 2nd in tow and chainsaws sharp (when they thought I'd already be at work) to attack the 8-12' lengths.  

. . . I've been sitting here, fingers on the keyboard, trying to figure out how to properly explain what kind of person J is (and not having much luck).  The problem is, I don't know how to describe him in this day and age.  Were it 150 years ago, I'd have no problem.  He and his wife would be the farmers who put their own crops on the back burner to come harvest yours when you were in dire straights.  No, correction:  they'd come to help BEFORE you got into a tight situation.  J is an old-fashioned kind of guy.  A blue-collar, honest-as-the-day-is-long kind of guy.  To him, family is #1.  Hands-down, no arguments.  And, somewhere along the line, he and Bundle of Joy's mama decided that I was family.  And family comes first.  I know that NO MATTER WHAT EVER MIGHT HAPPEN, I can call on and count on them.  Flat out, no questions asked. 

I know Tom's and my divorce has been hard on them.  They are devoutly religious.  Not devoutly in the "zealot, can't-have-any-non-Christian-friends" way, but their every belief is founded in a deep trust in the teachings of the Bible.  But, they balance that (disappointment in our divorce) with the understanding that, #1, the decision to divorce was not an easy one for us NOR, more importantly, one we took lightly and, #2, we are all different (in our beliefs and principles).  While they are sad that we're no longer together, they also find comfort in the fact that we are determined to stay friends.  Matter of fact, Tom and I have often been invited to their house on the same night to visit . . . killing two birds with one stone, if you'll pardon the pun.  Although, we've also visited just as many times (more, probably) on our own.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this . . . I wasn't meaning to bring it back to Tom and me.  I'm just trying to express what incredible people J and H are.  They have taken us (me) into their hearts and, as a direct result, into their family.  And I do NOT take that love and relationship lightly.  It's one of the most meaningful and treasured friendships I have.  You know?  We need to invent a new word!  I know they say that "friends are the family you choose", but I want a word that means MORE than "just" friends.  What should it be?

Well, I feel like I've really strayed off on a tangent tonight, but, rather than pull it back to whatever intended path I'd sent out on, I'm gonna sign off.  Like I said at the beginning of this, I'm tired!

P.S.  Very much NOT incidentally, my "adopted daughter" is J's baby sister . . . .  ;)  Although, we have very much separate relationships:  mine with her vs. mine with them.  Weird, huh?

Random Thoughts & A Day to Duluth

First random thought:  Monday night, Tom stayed in town, and so I made myself some good, ol'-fashioned cornbread for dinner alongside a homemade bison burger mixed up with lots of onions & other good stuff . . . and spicy HP sauce on the side.  Tom doesn't care much for cornbread (you can tell HE wasn't a Southerner in a previous life!), so, while the cat's away, the mouse will play!  Or . . . eat cornbread, as the case may be.

Second random thought:  I'm still fighting this rather exhausting cold.  I remember coming down with it on the 7th, the day after Tom's birthday, and here it is, the 27th.  20 days is TOO many.  I'm still blowing gunk the color of my well-used college highlighters.  Hmph.  Maybe I have walking pneumonia.  I'm doing everything right (Vit. C & D, plenty of juice & liquids, good food, blah, blah, blah).  I think the only thing holding me back is that I'm probably still not getting enough rest.  But, when you're a night owl by nature and then Life begins right away in the morning . . . it doesn't allow for a lot of sleep.  That's one of my eternal struggles:  to try to get to bed earlier at night.  

Tom and I were off to the big city of Duluth yesterday, 3 hours away.  Below are pictures I took as we were crossing one of the big bridges that separate Soup Town (Superior, WI) from Duluth.  This was our 2nd trip of the day back to Duluth from errands in Superior.  In the photos, you can see a couple of freighters - probably docking here for the winter.  Duluth is on the hills above the big lake.   

Fortunately and for ONCE, I was actually ready to leave when I'd planned to in the morning . . . which was lucky because I spent the next 30 minutes fighting with snow & weather-related problems until I HAD to go . . . or be late to our first appointment of the day two (large) counties away.  As a result, the chicken chores didn't get done, and they went without fresh water (among other things) for the day . . . the 3-gallon bucket of hot water I was bringing to them dumping completely over when I took an impressive spill while trying to both rush & maintain my balance out the last few steps of the house-to-yard path.  Note:  I WILL finish shoveling that path today despite the windy, already below 0 weather we are having.  At least there's nary a cloud in the sky, and the sun is beginning to feel noticeably warmer on my back as I work.

Following the spill of both chicken farmer & chicken water (pun intended) and getting the wood boiler EXTRA stoked for the cold, long day ahead, it was time to start warming up the truck.  Problem #1?  Getting into the truck.  When I'd parked after plowing on Monday, it was still warm out, so I knew the doors might be a little frozen.  But, with the use of a pry-bar and no small amount of pressure, I got three of the four doors open and the truck started.  


Problem #2?  Getting the rear driver's side door to STAY shut.  The locking mechanism on that door has never been terribly cooperative, despite visits to the mechanic.  But, in yesterday's cold, it simply gave up the ghost, and the locking mechanism detached from the handle.  Result?  No way to keep the door closed . . . without a ratcheting tie-down that I jury-rigged from the inside door handle across the back of the crew cab to one of the Oh Sh*t handles on the other side.  Did I mention that, since the dogs "live" in the back of the truck, the blanket put there to catch the majority of their (copious) hair had nicely transferred all those long, blond, filthy strands to my dress cords?  Sigh.  (And that's why a mini lint roller lives in my purse.)

At any rate, half an hour later than planned, but still (barely) within my time limitations, I was out the driveway, calling, "Sorry, guys!" as I passed the poultry yard.

Coincidentally, there were more struggles with locks yesterday, it being a cold one:  when we were at Target, with, of course, a FULL cart, the lock on the hatchback of the Yaris (which is what we drove down) refused to budge, so we had to load all the booty through the front.  And, we later discovered that my folks had gone out to run some errands & then get gas . . . only to discover that the truck's locking gas cap wouldn't accept the proffered key for love nor money.  Ah, yes, life in the North.

Random thought #3:  we got upwards of 8" of more of the heaviest, wettest snow I've ever tried to plow over the weekend.  FORTUNATELY, there are two groups of loggers working on our road this winter, and they are keeping the road plowed nice and wide with plenty of room remaining in which to push the rest of the winter's snow.  But, the distance from the end of our driveway to the closest of the loggers was rapidly turning into a narrow cow path . . . even a 9' blade on a 1-ton pickup not being the right equipment to push that snow far enough off the road.  But, yesterday morning I was greeted by a WONDERFUL surprise . . . someone had cleared the sides of the road all the way up to the end of our driveway!  I vowed right then and there to bake the boys some goodies today in appreciation, but now I'm not so sure just who did it!  See, there are also two guys from the Rez doing some clearing alongside the road for their PistenBully groomer to lay a nice track for the snowmobilers.  So . . . I dunno who did it!  I guess I'll just have to make TWO batches of goodies just in case I approach the "nope, wasn't us" guys first.  



Not so random thought #4:  I've diddled away enough of the day writing, so I feel that I need to get on to other things.  I could say that I'll return to this post later, but those of you who are regular readers know that I rarely follow through!  ;)  Anyway, suffice it to say, we had a productive day in Daloot, but it felt GOOD to be home last night as the moon shown so brightly upon the snow . . . even if it was 12:45 AM when I was in for the night.  (But, hey, I am a night person, right?!)  I took this last poor-quality-but-hopefully-illustrative shot of how bright the moon glow was from the bedroom window as I tucked in for the night.