Miscellaneous

Good morning.  So, I made it in to town and the office for about, what, four whole hours yesterday?  And, it took the stuffin' out of me.  I really felt yucky when I got home last night.  But, having a long-standing appointment with a client this morning, I made myself a good dinner right away and then settled down with a cup of tea and my crocheting (in bed), and prepared for a good night's sleep.

And couldn't fall asleep.  Not for love nor money.  I curled up on my right side.  I flopped onto my stomach.  I lay stretched out on my left side.  I turned onto my back.  I got up and peed.  I came back to bed and sang '99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall'.  Then I braided my hair.  F-I-N-A-L-L-Y . . . as I was juuuuuust falling asleep . . . BEEP!  BEEP!  BEEP!  BEEP!  (The sound made when a large piece of machinery is put into reverse.)  It was the Piston-Bully snowmobile groomer right down below in the valley.  Stuck.

Lights flashing, forward and back (beep!  beep!  beep!) over and over.  Finally, all lights are extinguished, one by one.  Silence.  And the dull spread of a flashlight's beam.  Shee-it.  I am SO tired and am ALMOST asleep now, but I have to go help him!  I'm the only one!

I linger.  Have made all the mental preparations for heading down to help . . . just haven't gotten out of bed yet.

Then, ggggggrrrrooowwwl!  The engine fires up again.  Blinding lights come on, one by one.  (Seriously, the lights they use are like the lights from a Texas high school football field.)  The orange rotating safety light starts whirring.  The engine engages, and . . . he's off!  So, what was the problem, engine malfunction?  Did a track slip?  Or . . . was it . . . (dum, dum, dummmmmm) . . . my fault?

Another story waiting to be told is that of my winter driveway having been OPENED!  Matter of fact, it is SO open that if you drive on either side instead of directly down the center, you'll get sucked into the ditches!  But, the 'dozer that opened the road also left huge 3 and 4 foot boulders of snow at either side . . . boulders which, if they're anything like their siblings left at the sides of my (personal) driveway, have frozen into S-O-L-I-D, massive hunks of white concrete.

Now, additional back story:  the local band of Chippewa (Ojibwe, Anishinabe) sponsors an Easter Seals snowmobile fundraiser at the beginning of each February.  Part of the route includes my winter driveway.  The race is scheduled for tomorrow.  I always try to plan around this event to make sure I'm not coming or going when there's going to be extra sled traffic.  And, when I'd been planning to have the road widened, I had consciously decided to have it done AFTER this race, baring new snowfall:  knowing it might screw up their parallel-to-my-road trail.

HOWEVER, a snow angel came to me last . . . Sunday, was it? . . . and I had the option to have things opened up.  Then.  As he was leaving my part of the county that night.  So, I took the chance and ran with it, so to speak.

To make a short story long (!), though, I'm worried that having the road widened and the resulting mountains of frozen boulders are what caused the groomer's problems last night.  I'm both anxious and apprehensive to see what I find this morning when I drive past the place he was stuck / stopped.  In a way, I wish I HAD gotten out there last night to offer my help, if for no other selfish reason than to tell him that I'd WANTED to wait until after the race to do the widening but had no choice.  I'm worried that my name is mud.  On the other hand, he should have seen where the same road-widening contractor opened up an old logging road into the woods and went to work:  hopefully he'll add those two and two instead of my need for a wider winter driveway.

In other news, I did my monthly inventory check at the floral shop yesterday and put in the sets of five new Valentine's Day cards (and sold one before they were even in their slots!).  Haven't had time to redo that one that I printed incorrectly yet (horizontally instead of vertically).  Anyway, here's the last image (and the one that sold immediately) that I haven't yet shown you.  Depending on what OS (operating system) you're running, you can actually see the fun fonts that I chose.  I think.  Maybe.  Kinda.

I wanna nuzzle your muzzle.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

And, finally, no snow lately, which has been just fine, but the weather feels like it's prepping for something big.  It's warmed up, and it's very grey out with some wind.  Has the feel of a clipper comin'.  But, whaddo I know?  Time will tell.

Have a great . . . what is today?  I'm SO off my schedule from staying home on Wednesday and only having a partial day yesterday!  Right, Friday!  Heck, having the radio on this AM, I just learned that this Sunday is the Super Bowl.  I LOVE not having a TV!!!  Now, that's . . . football, right?  ;)

Sunday Morning

I took the laptop to bed with me last night, but after I'd turned it on and read one or two posts from other blogger friends, I just didn't have it in me to write myself.  Too tired.

It's been a busy weekend on the winter driveway:  it's the Easter Seals Snow-A-Rama snowmobile fund-raising weekend on the rez, and one of the big events was a poker run from there to Point B and back.  So, I've been hearing the whine of 2 and 4-stroke engines all weekend.  Tomorrow I'll go out to clean-up-plow the road.  Even tho there is special flagging for the busy weekend reminding riders to stay on the trail, it's an inevitability that a few take to the wide-open road and the luge-esque fun that the snowbanks offer, knocking down said snowbanks and making a mess of the road.  Oh, well, such is life.


In just these last two weeks or so, the sun has started to make SUCH a difference!  First off, the clouds of mid-winter have lifted, and the solar panels are getting a lot more battery-charging rays.  I, in turn, have been taking those opportunities of free electricity to get laundry & some ironing done.  (The ironing, especially, is a HUGE energy-sucker . . . which is a bummer 'cause I love to iron!)


My 20 minutes (minimum) of daily snow shoveling has been aided by the sun, too, and most days find me jacket-less by the end.  There is a downside to that powerful warmth, though, too:  it's melting the top layers of snow causing a hard crust to form once it freezes AND compacts all the snow underneath.  I'm STILL working on removing the snow from the large deck, and I've been shoveling there for DAYS!  I really should do the math to figure out how many cubic feet of snow I'm dealing with (Ms. Blueberry Hills, maybe I'll send the numbers to you & you can crunch 'em!).  I've removed all of the white stuff that can be easily shoveled and am now left with frozen, compacted cement that's 3' deep.  Yesterday I finally pulled out the ice chipper (what's that tool really called?), and today I will start hacking away at what remains.  But, don't think that I'm complaining!  With each bend-and-stretch-and-lift, I think of all the good that it's doing my body.


I know this is an old, repetitious complaint, but have any of you figured out the key, yet, to having enough time in the day?  I kid you not:  last night I came down the stairs from . . . I can't remember what . . . and thought, "I'm gettin' hungry.  Must be time for dinner."  I looked at the pendulum clock on the living room wall and exclaimed, out loud, "It's 10:00?!!!"  In-sane.


Tom's coming out tomorrow to collect some things.  He wants to take some pictures, too, of his Mac & custom-made sea (or Great Lakes) kayak in order to sell them.  It sounds like the Mac (it's a desktop, not a Notebook) may already be spoken for, but does anyone want a beautiful, used-fewer-than-10-times, kayak?  He's considering (nothing has been decided yet) about climbing Denali in the spring, and so he needs to raise some funds for that.  While he's here, I'll have him help me take down the 'Go Away' sign on the driveway.  That thing is heavier than heavy, and it needs to come down in order for the short-bed logging truck to drive in with the birch I ordered.


Up until now, Tom's been fortunate enough to have a mutual friend offer him the use of one of his nightly rentals right (RIGHT!) on Lake Superior.  But, there's no kitchenette, and, besides, Bigview Flyboy is going to need it open & available again as the tourist season picks up come May.  So, Tom contacted some other friends who own a small hotel in town, and they have one long-term, house-keeping unit that they've said he can rent.  He's going to see it this week - the one problem being that it may be a basement unit, whose dark environment would do NOTHING for Tom's struggles with S.A.D. and depression!  Finally, Tom felt the need to get himself a P.O. box in town, so his mailing address is different now.  Anyone who needs that info can e-mail him directly.  I have a feeling that, in time, his e-mail address will probably change, too, but I'll keep y'all posted.


And now . . . ON WITH THE DAY!  Oh!  No!  Wait!  I do have one more thing to share.


For the past month, I've been talking to chosen business owners, letting them know that I'm looking for outside work now.  I have two jobs loosely lined up already - they'd begin in the spring.  Buuuuut, if I could get this third position that just popped up on my radar last Thursday, it would be WONDERFUL:  it's a full-time (but just 35 hours a week) year-round jobs with benefits.  And, double bonus, it's a non-profit that I've been working with for almost the past year already, designing their new website!  So, a good relationship has already been established AND, if they hire me, they'll have a web administrator on-staff (a selling point I'm gonna stress)!  I heard back from them pretty much immediately when I expressed my interest Thursday morning.  They want me to send in my resume (hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!) and a cover letter, so that's on the docket for this afternoon.  Wish me luck!!  Applications close on March 10th.  (I wish it were sooner, but what are ya gonna do?)

Monday Morning Update

Okay, Tahiry, this one's for you! (Furthering your belief that we're completely nuts!)

This past Friday marked my one-week post-surgery anniversary. I'm not supposed to drive for the first two weeks due to the meds I'm taking, but why they didn't bother to tell me that when prescribing these very same pain killers over the last three years, I have no idea! So, obviously, the prospect of driving "under the influence" was not a concern for me. (Although, perhaps it should have been.)

So, with sufficient warnings that the road was very slippery, I headed out to a much-needed massage therapy appointment . . . shooting out the end of our driveway with little control over the steering . . . confirming that yes, it was, indeed, icy. I proceeded with caution. I encountered two snowmobilers so proceeded with even more caution and less speed. Then, when I was a-l-m-o-s-t out to the main road, I lost control on a corner. I compensated by throwing the wheel in the other direction. The car corrected . . . and then over-corrected and we were now out of control on the other side of the road. I twisted the wheel the other way, but nothing happened, and WHAM! We were up and over the small embankment between the road and snowmobile trail, and I was perfectly parked - sideways - on the snowmobile trail. Hmph! Attempts to drive out were futile. The ground was fairly firm underneath me, but one of the rear tires was caught in the softer, snowy embankment. If I shoveled just a little . . . .

Let me tell you, it took ALL my self-control to not grab that shovel out of the back seat and drop to my knees in the snow. But, I knew it was bad enough that I'd gotten stuck. If I shoveled in my "not supposed to lift anything for 6 weeks" state, I knew I would be painfully drawn-and-quartered by my husband, mother, father, and massage therapist. In that order. So, my only choice was to walk home. 4.2 miles, to be precise, but who's counting? (This picture is of the dogs in the distance on the walk. Beautiful Minnesota blue sky!)

It wasn't exactly the most ideal way to spend my one-week post-surgery anniversary, but I didn't hurt myself. I took it slow, it was a beautiful 15 degree day with the warm sun full on my back, and the dogs LOVED the unexpected jaunt. But, guess how many parties of snowmobilers passed me and failed to stop to offer help? Four. Ah, yes. At least they all cheerfully waved! (Grumble, grumble.) And, truth be told, I couldn't have really accepted a ride since I had the dogs, but an offer still would have been nice.

House Photo

A bit of admin this morning . . . . Yes, I know the photo of the house at the top of the blog is all flooey. I've done everything on my end to fix it, and it seems to be a SNAFU on Blogger's part. So, just try to ignore it 'til it's fixed, I guess! :)

Tom has started spending some time in his workshop during the evenings again - most recently beginning to build his mini dogsleds again! (Yes, I will get a picture/info up about them soon, TJ!) He hadn't had time to get any made for the Pre-Christmas Artisans' Sale on the 1st, but we did have a display model out. And, based on that one, he did take one order . . . and we didn't even have it "highlighted". I mean, no price tag or anything suggesting it was anything more than decoration for my table. I know that when he does get a bunch made, they'll sell like hotcakes!

The weather has been mild lately with a high of around 19 degrees each day. I wish we'd get more snow. That which we have is getting that "old" look to it. I have to run down to the post office today and will take the plow truck to "clean up" the road. Now that the snowmobiles are out, they've knocked down all the nice, clean snowbanks along the side. (What is it about riding a snowmobile up and down snowbanks when you have a perfectly good, newly-groomed riding trail SMACK DAB NEXT TO THE ROAD??? I just don't get it.)

Sadly, I don't think I'm going to get a tree up this year. Christmas is my most favorite holiday, but we've still got SO much going on . . . and are still so far behind and constantly trying to play catch-up . . . that I've found myself needing to drastically prioritize. And, getting Christmas cards out, food made for the holidays, and presents wrapped are getting the top billing. But, there's still a little time, so who knows. Problem is, if I don't get it up until the very last days until Christmas, I won't want to take it down until Easter! ;)

Tom's done the research on a new, beautiful little woodstove for the 4-season sunroom and he's going to drive to Ely to pick it up this week. It's glass-fronted like the one we had in the old house, and we can't wait to sit around a crackling fire again. Yes, we did just install the Kalamazoo in the middle room (between the diningroom and livingroom), but that has just three very small little viewing windows. And, the sunroom is so much cooler because of being nearly all glass that a cozy little woodstove will take the chill right off . . . and then we'll use that space more! I can't wait! So, yet another chimney installation project faces us (probably Tom and my dad again - they're getting it down pat now!).

Otherwise, not much to report. Tom and his staff are working on getting the new accounting system in which affects everything from time clocks to payroll . . . and which, of course, is not going smoothly (does anything?). So, he's been working some longer days due to that.

And, I'm just trying, trying, trying to get ready for Christmas . . . without losing my enjoyment of it in the busyness. How is it that even though you know JUST when it's going to happen each year, without fail it STILL sneaks up on a person!?

Getting Better

So, yes, after the horrible couple of days last week, life is getting better.

Knock, knock, knock on wood . . . the septic line remains open and unfrozen.

Tom returned from a business trip to a casino in Iowa on Friday night which took SUCH a load off my shoulders (it just having been me having to deal with everything). I swear, it seems like he always misses the real emergencies. Lucky boy. In actuality, though, I know he would rather be here - dealing with it - than anywhere else. When he's gone, he's wracked with guilt that it's just me having to slog through the current disaster. Good thing he married a girl who "grew up in the sticks", I say! ;)

Last night was a banner night. Five months and two days after moving into our new house, we both got to take showers here for the very first time! Hot, long, luxurious showers! To recap, the master bathroom tub assembly and shower were finally installed on Valentine's Day . . . but the septic line was frozen, so nothing could go down the drain! And, in all actuality, the Roman tub faucet had long ago been installed in the tub, but there was no waste assembly in the drain . . . and all the water would have fallen onto the dining room table below! Not good . . . nor convenient. Messy, too.

Friday night before Tom was home, I took the first shower. But . . . .

1. The bathroom wasn't enclosed, so all the warm air escaped, and it was COLD!

2. The hot water valve in the shower wasn't properly adjusted, so I didn't have the hot, hot water I needed.

3. I didn't know if the septic line was actually, finally, truly working properly, so I took a speedy shower - 90% expecting that the downstairs would be partially flooded with backed-up sewage water when I got out.

4. The circuit breaker for the pressure tank is still not working properly and blows at the most inopportune moments . . . which I was fully expecting to happen during my shower. This added to the stressful, quick-as-lightning clean-up.

Last night's showers, though, with all of the above either fixed or able to be taken care of by the 2nd person in the house (Tom insulated the entire master bathroom yesterday), resulted in long, lovely, and relaxing showers for us both. Until you've not had it, I'm not sure one can truly appreciate what it means to be able to properly bathe (i.e. not a sponge bath over a bucket) in your own home. But we . . . WE know what a luxury it is!

Onto a completely different subject . . . snowmobiles.

Everyone knows that we are not lovers of snowmobiles. And, I haven't mentioned anything about them this winter. Because I've come to peace with them? No. Definitively NO. Matter of fact, because of the lack of snow in nearly every single other part of Minnesota besides ours, we (lucky us) have been the recipients of more snowmobile traffic than ever this winter. They whine and rev and roar up and down our road. We can't take the dogs down to the river because we'll surely be met by a group of anywhere from 4-20 of them. At a loss for snow-covered trails, they've taken to the river . . . eating up the clean palette of white and chewing up the vegetation at the river's edge. Tom and the dogs snowshoed down to the (other) river that separates us from Canada this afternoon, and, for the first time in the 9 years that we've been here, snowmobiles have even infiltrated that remote stretch of water. What a disappointment.

So, just as I'm ready to think about positioning my sniper rifle (only to render their machines useless, of course), a snowmobiler goes and does something nice. Truly, heart-felt kind, actually. (Dammit.)

Last year, between Christmas and New Year's, we "rescued" a group of snowmobilers who were HOPELESSLY lost late one night and very nearly out of gas. We gave them all the gas we had, pointed them in the direction of the nearest gas station (18 miles, by trail), and wished them a Merry Christmas. They tried to pay us, but we said no . . . .

Today, four snowmobiles came revving into our yard. It was them (or part of the group, anyway), coming to thank us. They'd made note of where we were and just wanted to express their gratitude. When I grabbed my coat and came out of the house, the one man said to Tom, "THAT'S our angel - she's the one who stopped for us!" (I was heading back home to Hastings-on-the-Lake and Tom was staying up here at the trapper cabin when I met them on the road.) They are farmers from Iowa and make this trip with their sons each year. The youngest boy - 13 now - is still traumatized by the "adventure", they said, and gets scared each time a 'Y' in the trail is debated. Poor thing. I remember last year when his little, quavery voice piped up to ask, "Ma'am, are we still in Minnesota?"

Anyway, nice people. Very nice.

(Now, why can't snowmobiles be quiet, non-smelling machines, darn it?!)