Time to Update

Mornin'!  Time to update (i.e. a day at home), but not much to say.  That said, I'll probably write a hugely long post . . . as I have in the past.  ;)


The weather remains unusually warm and mild.  And, that's good for me:  not having fired up the heat (outdoor wood furnace) yet.  No need for it.  Even the fires built in the Kalamazoo (stove in the middle room) each night when I get home are a thing of the recent past.  The down side to the warmth is the insane hatch of cluster flies everyone is fighting this fall.  They're the worst anyone has seen.  For me, it's a toss-up which room to have the long-armed vacuum and ladder in . . . too bad it can't be everywhere at once!  For the past few days, I've been focusing The Great Suck Up in the bedroom, but I'll move it all to the kitchen today.  It's just so gross to have a constant buzzing sound be the background noise in there.  BLECH!  I can't wait for the cold weather to eradicate them . . . and then wash the windows!

I haven't heard a thing back re that secretarial job.  And, since interviews were supposed to take place today, tomorrow, and Wednesday, I don't have high hopes.  The woman I was e-mailing about it seemed SO excited for me to apply . . . but, since I've heard nothing from the hiring committee, I'm guessing it was an internal, already-decided deal that she wasn't privy to . . . until after her conversations with me.  I think I'll shoot her off an e-mail, though, just inquiring.  Matter of fact, I'll do that right now.  Hang on.  Okay, done.

I also responded to an ad for seasonal fish-processing work . . . and didn't hear a thing back from THAT!  Wahhhhh, nobody wants me!  I'm sure many of you are saying, "Fish processing?!  You should be GLAD you didn't hear back!"  But, no, it's a good paying gig (or so I've heard - don't know for sure yet), and I'd love to learn how to do this stuff by hand.  A dying art, and all that rot.  Okay, follow-up e-mail sent there now, too.

And, still trying for a licensed kitchen, I contacted one of the local motels that supposedly has a new kitchen that isn't being used . . . but I haven't heard back from THEM, either!  Follow up e-mail now sent to them, too.

I responded to a well-known local business looking to redesign their website, as well.  No response.  BUT, the owner is not what I'd consider the most organized nor a timely responder, so that lack of communication doesn't surprise me.  

On the up side, I did sell an item on eBay last night for just over $50, so that's better than a kick in the head . . . but it's all, overall, still frustrating.  I am going to get another listing or two up on eBay today, though, and having items there to sell does provide a cheap thrill when you check them to see what the bids are up to.  Gotta get my excitement somewhere, huh?  ;)  'Course, then there are the items that don't garner a single bid . . . !

Oh, and one more "up", I finally got a full rack of cards into the office of my realtor friend (who let me display a good number of my large pieces there in his foyer) on Saturday.  I'd planned to have that all together in time for Memorial Day Weekend.  Ha!  'Course, maybe if I trick myself into believing that I meant Memorial Day Weekend of 2012 instead of 2011, I can say that I'm ahead of schedule!  You know that old saying, "I'm so far behind I thought I was 1st!"  Yup, that's me!

I had to come up with a payment box - that's the brown thing next to the card rack - so customers could slip their cash/checks in there w/o having to bother the realty office receptionist to pay.

Papa Pea generously sharpened my favorite chainsaw for me this past week, so I'll spend some quality time with the woodpile again today.  He did caution, though, that I can't let it get SO dull before bringing it to him next time.  My thinking had been that I'd use up the sharp teeth until I was practically using the thing as a handsaw . . . to save him from frequent sharpenings.  But, apparently, that only makes it worse and harder to properly sharpen.  Doh!  A learning lesson . . . but, unfortunately, one that HE had to do all the work for and only relay to me!


I'm "reading" (audio) a really good book right now:  'One Thousand White Women' by Jim Fergus.  It's fiction but written in a non-fiction journal form.  Where would I be w/out my audio books?!  They're what keep me sane during all these stressful times.  Although, sometimes they lead to stress:  I've COMPLETELY lost one of the cassette tapes to a long-ago listened-to book, and the library's replacement value for it is $69.00.  In the meantime, I'm racking up late fees and am unable to check out any more items until I've either returned the missing tape or paid the replacement fee.  So, an even MORE in-depth (than what I've done so far) search for it is on the docket today.  Maybe I'll find my cellphone-to-charger cord at the same time!  (I had to buy a new one after that disappeared.)

My list for the day only has 9 things on it.  I could spend HOURS on a few of the tasks, but, hopefully, by the end of the day, I'll have spent SOME time on all of them.


So, what are YOU currently stressing about?  Tell me, so I can know we're all under unreasonable pressure right now.  ;)

Update:  just got this response (very nice of her to do so) re the secretarial job. 

We had 14 applicants and have narrowed it down to 4 and are starting interviews tonight.  If those 4 don't work, we narrow again and set up interviews.  I am sorry you didn't make the first 4, but things could change . . . will keep you posted and send out an email if and when we do fill the position tonight.

Winds of Change?

The wind has been up these last couple of days, pushing coolness across the snow.  Due to high, fast-moving clouds, the sun has felt weak, but there is still a small amount of drip-drip-dripping going on:  a definitely pleasant sound!

Thanks to Papa Pea's chainsaw sharpening skills, I'm making good progress on the cords of birch.  Here are some pictures as I'm progressing through the pile.  I've marked a tree in the background (on the images, NOT in reality!) for a reference point.

Here's, pretty much, where the pile was when I began working on it last month.  As you can see, half the battle is uncovering it!  I hauled away many, many wheelbarrow loads of snow!

I enjoy cutting wood, and it feels so good to be aware that my body's becoming stronger as a result of it, too!  When I began, I would cut until I felt my body getting weak / shaky:  that was a good time to stop!  (Using a chainsaw is NOT ideal when one is feel shaky!)  Now, though, I stop - just for the convenience OF a stopping point - when I use up a tank of gas.  (And, because I want to move along with my day and get other things done.)

Progress!

More progress!

I'll be able to work through these cords of birch with no problem.  Once I get to the maple, though, I'm gonna organize some Wood Working with Friends days!  Sawing through hard, hard maple is s-l-o-w work!  My goal (easily attainable, I think) is to have all this wood cut (if not stacked) by bug season (usually around the end of May).  Doing wood work while wearing a sweltering head net is NOT fun.

In other news, this (above) set-up at the dining room table is a great example of how ALL my computers are right now.  I'm juggling five (!) different ones:  the three old ones plus the two new ones.  Above on the left, you see the laptop I was using as my MAIN (believe it or not) computer at the office.  At the right is the new laptop.  The easy thing to do would be to transfer ALL the information from it to the new computer at work, but there's so much personal stuff on there that I don't want to weigh down the new office desktop with it.  So, I carry it back and forth with me, transferring files as I find the need for them.  Probably not the most efficient use of my time, but I'm hoping it will decrease computer clutter, down the road.

My goal is to keep the desktop at work limited to only work files and images.  The new laptop will be for new personal photos, and the old desktop that I use in my home (personal) office will be for all the home files.  

That's all for this morning.  Enjoy your Tuesday, and I'll enjoy "my Sunday"!  :)

Nothing (And This Time I Mean It!)

Good morning!  I miss not blogging during my work weeks.  I'm hoping that the extra energy that the sun will bring me in the spring will help.


So, when I say that nothing much is going on right now, I do mean it.  I've been trying to work on the wood pile these mornings before I head in to work (if I can wake up early enough).  I was ill prepared in regards to cut wood last fall, but I've been pleased that I was able to stretch it out until now.  I'm nearing the end, and so I've been working on either digging out the cut lengths that never got stacked (easier said than done given this winter's amount of snow!) or cutting up the 8' lengths of birch that were delivered last spring.  I've finally mastered starting the chainsaws (knock on wood), and I feel like I learn more about them with each use.  My sweet daddy (Papa Pea of Mama Pea fame) has been maintaining them for me (sharpening the chains, tuning them up), but I realize that I NEED to learn how to sharpen the chains myself 'cause this needs to be a regular part of up-keep.  And, from everything I've heard my whole life, that's NOT a fun (read "easy") thing to do.  But, I'll be learning from the best . . . I need to make an appointment!  :)

It was 12 below yesterday, but I've been able to pack the road and then creatively plow enough (so as not to scrape the packed snow from the ice underneath) to warrant finally trying the little car again.  It puts SO much strain and wear and tear on the frame of the plow truck to drive around with the full weight of the plow on it (raised, of course, when I drive down the main road and highway) that I hate to drive it when I don't have to.  (Plus, there's that whole gas mileage thing as the price of a gallon goes up and up and up.)  So, even though it was cold yesterday, the sun was out, and I drove the truck to where the car was parked a little over 1/2 a mile away and coaxed 'er into starting ("My goooood little car", I crooned!).  Then there was the usual transfer of dogs and bags and pulling one vehicle out and backing the other in . . . and I was off!  Tomorrow, the dogs and I will walk out and drive the truck home.  How good it will feel to have BOTH vehicles back in the yard!


* * * * *


I just haven't had the time at work to hook up the new computer, but after a productive business meeting with clients yesterday afternoon, I decided the time had come to treat myself.  I cleaned the desk and made room for the new tower and plugged everything in.  Got the old systems cleared away that I've been limping along with, too.  Then I sat down to hook the new computer up, wirelessly, to the building's router.  FRUSTRATION and AGGRAVATION ensued!  I won't bore you with the details, but, while I AM (technically) hooked up to the Internet, the new computer's still not "speaking" to it.  After struggling MUCH too long with it, I was "saved by the bell" to end my day and pick up the dogs.


You know that saying "you can't see the forest for the trees"?  Yup, I needed to STEP AWAY from the problem.  As I drove home last night, contemplating how I would work with the new system today w/ no Internet access (which would be nearly impossible), I realized, "Uhh, duhhhh?  Just hook up the Ethernet cable again, you dummy!"  That's what I'll do today . . . and, instead of fighting it, I'll put a word in to my computer guru to stop by in the next week or so to fix whatever I'm doing wrong with the wireless aspect of it.  (I just get SO stuck in the "you're not stupid - you can figure this OUT" kind of thinking sometimes that I don't realize that it would be so much EASIER to let someone more experienced take over!  Dumb, da-dumb, DUMB!!)


It's snowing lightly today and overcast although it's still chilly at 8 above.  I've overheard a lot of people in town saying, "It's going to be March in less than a week!" . . . as if that's the "finish line" we need to make it to in order for this winter to be over.  ;)  Historically, though, March is our snowiest month . . . since the temps are warmer then.  Time will tell.  In the meantime, Swamp River Ridge is still laying under its mid-winter blanket.


And, with that, I'm off.  Hope you have a great Sunday and can take at least a little special time FOR YOURSELF!  :)

A Busy Couple o' Days

Holy crow, there's a lot of snow out there!  I haven't stuck a measuring stick into it since the last couple of inches fell yesterday, but there's probably about 14" out there, total so far this winter.  I'll try to remember to do that later today.  For those of you without snow, I feel kind of guilty saying it, but it sure does look BEAUTIFUL out there!  Gorgeouso!  So many years lately, we've held our breath for a white Christmas, but it feels SO good and right to have a white Thanksgiving again.  Growing up, I remember always having them, but it hasn't been that way for several years now.  I MISS the "real winters" of yore.  But, it looks like I've got one this year!  :)

I woke up an hour earlier than the alarm would have gone off this morning, my ears picking up miserable moans and cries from Maisy.  Her ears are acting up again.  From birth and thanks to an immoral breeder, she's had horrible skin irritations.  Fortunately, to look at her, you wouldn't know it.  She doesn't scratch the skin bare like so many poor, afflicted dogs do, but she is the quintessential 'dog can't hold its licker' (generally her "girl parts" . . . and almost always when someone's over for dinner!).  So, up I got and prepped all the ear cleaners and sprays and then tackled both her and the job at hand.  She HATES having me work on her ears . . . which is counter-indicative since she always feels better afterwards.  Dumb dog.  But, she's calm now, snoozing on my left slippered foot, and that's the important thing. 

It was cold this morning:  8 degrees.  Once I was up, I built up the fire in the kitchen's cookstove and got a fire going here in the sunroom.  I've been trying to burn some of the newer wood in lieu of firing up the chainsaw to cut the older, seasoned stuff into pieces small enough to fit into the house's stoves (vs. the big ol' outside furnace), but, no surprise, they're not burning nearly as well, so I think I'll need to do some chainsawing today.

Between Sunday and yesterday, I got a LOT done!  In no particular order, I:

• Shoveled a lot of snow.
• Got the plow onto the 1-ton, thanks to ashes & colder temperatures for getting the truck unstuck and a big birch tree for pushing the plow on those last couple of inches until I could lock it into place.  That operation used up a couple of hours.
• Plowed the 4 1/2 mile winter driveway, making two passes in and out.  (90 minutes for the two passes.)
• Plowed the yard, Swamp River Ridge driveway, and trapper cabin driveway, although there's more to do there.  (That took a couple more hours.)
• The usual:  chop wood, carry water (to the remaining poultry now that it IS, indeed, winter, and the hose running from the garage to the poultry yard has long-since frozen).
• Threw rocks for Maisy, ad finitum.  (On the up side, since Tom left and I've been the one "forced" to do this, I've developed an almost respectable pitching arm!)
• Put away all the Halloween decorations.  No time for Thanksgiving ones:  I'll go straight to Christmas.
• Cleaned, vacuumed, washed dishes.
• Made a full batch of fixings for tacos with the last poundage of bison which has provided me several healthy meals.  And, now that the money has f-i-n-a-l-l-y come in (do you hear the angels singing?), I can order more!
• Eaten ALL the Butterscotch Refrigerator Rolls I made at Baby Girl's house on Saturday.  (In my defense, I left half of the batch there as a b-day present for her daddy.)
• Unloaded 250# of grain and bird seed from the truck.
• Did a good bit of ironing while the generator was running.
• Watered plants.  I used to have so many that this literally took me HOURS!  Right now, the number (17, but, for whatever reason, it only feels like just 5 or so) is the smallest I think I've ever had since living in the dorms in college.  I need to build up the assortment again!

And, ummmm, coupled with the usual e-mails, etc., I think that's it!  No, wait!

• Sorted through the battery box and tested them all, getting rid of the bad ones and putting fresh ones in all the clocks & flashlights that needed it.
• Sorted through my jewelry-making box and cleaned that up in preparation for a little (lotta?) elf work.
• Created and half filled a second box for stationery . . . I've outgrown my single large one.  I always keep a good selection of sympathy, birthday, etc. cards on hand.
• Boxed up some clothes, books to take into town to the ex.
• Hooked up and tested the phone.  Result:  it rings in the house, so, if I'm inside to hear it, I can pick up.  I can call out fine, too, but if you call me to leave a message . . . it stays on the cellphone's voicemail and doesn't patch through to the house's answering machine.  So, if I don't remember to call in to voicemail, I don't know I have any messages.  Just fyi.

Now!  I think that's it!

I have lots of pictures to upload from the last couple of days, so stay tuned.

The Past Few Days in Pictures

I know I haven't posted much lately.
No particular reason - just haven't seem to have found the time!
So, here's a little catch up.

On Monday, September 7th, I nannied.
When Baby Girl was having her afternoon nap,
I was able to clean and cut green & wax beans for freezing.



On Wednesday, September 9th, Maisy (and Tucker)
and I nannied one of my other charges.


With the peanut's help, I also got the beans blanched, packed, and frozen.


On my way to deliver a special order of cottage cheese on Thursday, the 10th, I found two weary hikers sitting at the bottom of our driveway - the husband having twisted his 68-year old ankle - and drove them the 16 miles to our little general store on the highway where they planned to hitchhike (!) the next 60 miles or so to their car left in Finland, MN.


I also picked up our mail. We get so much and are able to pick it up so infrequently that, instead of using our physical post office box to file it in, they just throw it into one of these big bins!


On Sunday, the 13th, dear friends arrived for a full day of house cleaning for the girls and standing-dead tree felling for the guys.


(And it was a hot, miserable day to spend logging!)


Thank you, thank you, J & H!


That evening, two other mutual friends joined us for a good dinner and great company.


The waning moon was a tiny crescent in the sky as I waved Tom off to work last Monday morning.


On Wednesday evening, Tom loaded the truck up with wood when we were in town. A good friend put up a couple of cords in expectation of a pig roast that never happened, and we get to reap the benefits!


Before I headed back into town to meet visiting friends Thursday afternoon,
I unloaded the truck. This was the first of two loads we've gotten so far, and there's more yet to be had!


Another fun day with Baby Girl came on Saturday. She has the most beautifully colored blue eyes I've ever seen . . . they are the color of the acid-wash jeans that we wore in the 80s!


Finally, we finished off the week with a visit from new friends who came all the way from southeastern Minnesota and stayed at our little Håfweh Haus. They ventured "into the woods" to have dinner here at Swamp River Ridge last night and enjoyed the double bonus of following a moose for nearly 3 miles on their way home last night!

Now, what will this week bring?

Tuesday's News

Well, I did spend some time outside on Sunday. I couldn't NOT! Last year, I spent a good chunk of time researching flower seeds for the landscaping here . . . followed by spending a good chunk of money to buy said flower seeds. But, they arrived juuust at the wrong time - so close to being too late in the season to plant. And so, not wanting to risk throwing away all that "seed money" (hardee-har-har!), I decided to wait until this year to plant them.

I took quite a few hours on Sunday morning to compile 18 pages of notes (!) on all of the flowers so I'd have a good reference for what each pack of seeds requires for planting, light, etc., etc. Then I headed outside.

Because it's a big job, I've been taking smaller sections of the yard at a time to first rake up all the scrap accumulated from the winter (WHERE does all that stuff come from?!), then moisten the soil, then plant, then ready the medium I've mixed up for the covering, spread that covering, and then finally water again. I got the slate walkway that leads off the side door to the hand pump and the area underneath the clothesline seeded with creeping thyme.

The highlights I made for the creeping thyme in my notes are: "super-vigorous, lemon-scented . . . months of deep pink blooms and heavenly fragrance . . . completely covered in 1/4-inch bells of carmine-pink for months on end . . . butterflies love it!" So, I can't wait to see the seeds start to sprout! I'm sure the following picture won't hold jaw-dropping excitement for you, my dear reader, but it should suffice as the first installment of a series of Then and Now shots of the landscaping.

Yesterday morning, Tom announced that he was "back" (physically) and that he was going to go cut and haul wood. So, off he went to the logging site that's accessed through our back 40 (they're done now and have pulled out all but one piece of their equipment - yayyy!). As you can see in this picture I took yesterday, things aren't quite GREEN around here yet!


Last night, he went into town to the court house to take a proficiency test that's required for a state job he's applied for. It lasted from 7:00 - 10:00 PM (?!), and Tom said that it was exhausting and HARD. Almost all financial word problems such as: if Mrs. Smith is 72 years old and receiving Social Security but has also received Section 8 housing assistance at 1/3 of the state average pay-out, what can she expect her monthly checks to be? (I just made that example up, but you get the drift.)

Okay, I've been side-tracked by several things since I started this post, so I'll sign off for now and post it. Enjoy the day!

Sunday - Brrrrr!

I know, I know . . . and I have no excuse.

Amid threats of horrible weather to come, yesterday morning was beautiful! 23 degrees and no wind. Lovely. No one believed the predictions 'cause it just didn't seem possible that the weather could change so quickly to what they were saying was coming our way. But, about 3:00 in the afternoon, it HIT! The temperature PLUMMETED, the skies cleared, and absolutely ferocious winds came up. It was -19 this morning, and we only hit a high of -7 today. The winds have not abated . . . making the temperature much lower . . . think -30 to -40. Nas-tee! The thing that kind of freaked me out about it was that this would be the kind of weather that folks would have died in - caught unawares - 150 years ago. You head out in the morning with a wagon full of firewood to sell in Mankato with only a normal jacket on . . . and end up huddled under your overturned wagon hoping you didn't die by the end of the night! Again, as I said: NAS-TEE!

Even tho I haven't written in a while, I truly don't have much to report . . . .

A friend of ours (childhood friend of mine) was home visiting from Africa where he and his wife are living in Uganda for three years (she works for a non-profit). We had him over for dinner a week ago tonight, I think it was.

Same old, same old for Tom up at work. No new news there.

My favorite rooster, a White Langshan, was dead on the floor of the chicken house when I went out to do chores one day last week. Don't know what happened. His neck was broken, so there was probably a skirmish or he panicked and smashed into something. I know there's no illness (fortunately) since no one else is lethargic (or worse). And, it does happen with poultry. Still a bummer that it's never one of the ones you couldn't have cared less about!

Every spare moment, Tom's been working on wood for the hungry furnace (especially in weather like this)! Word got out on the Rez that we were looking for seasoned firewood, and so, without so much as a phone call, one of the local loggers (and colorful "characters") backed into the yard one morning with a flatbed and unloaded a massive load of 8' lengths of solid maple . . . and then he came back with a second load before I even got a chance to call Tom to find out "what was up"! Then, without even coming up to the house, he drove off and we haven't seen him since. Wonder how much he wants to get paid for it?! Anyway, that's one of the quirky, wonderful things about living in a small community where word gets out faster than . . . it gets back to your wife! :)

Meanwhile, we are gearing up for my surgery this coming Friday, the 15th. It's amazing how much there is to DO to prepare "ye ol' homestead" for leaving . . . and that's even when someone's coming to stay to look after things in our absence! I am definitely feeling pressured to accomplish everything before we leave on Wednesday for my pre-op appointment. And, since everything's taking place 6 hours away in Minneapolis, once we're gone, that's it until I get to come home!

So, yeah, a complete hysterectomy plus an entire "clean-out" of the endometriosis that has grown into/around in my abdominal cavity. Sounds fun, huh?! But, believe me, after feeling the way I have for TOOOOOO long now, I am SOOOO ready! Bring it on! I don't know what the doctors have in mind, but I plan on coming home on Monday, the 18th . . . or Tuesday, at the latest. I expect we'll know more after the pre-op exam & consult. Tom dug out the walkie-talkies today, and we practiced to make sure they work between the house and garage. That way, he doesn't have to be here in the house the entire time I need him to be home w/ me during recovery . . . he can be "out and about" getting work done in the woodshed or puttering in the garage.

My best girlfriend, who is a PA at the U of M's bone marrow transplant H.O.T. center (Hematology, Oncology, and Transplantation), works in the very same building that my surgery will be taking place in, so she'll only be a pager call away for Tom. (Ideal, too, if things get medically confusing and we need someone to translate!)

So, that's the news. Assuming the hospital has wireless (?!), I will update the blog once I'm sitting upright. :)

Loggers and Logging

I know I haven't written a decent update in ages. My apologies. My free time has been filled with a humming scanner and sorting through box after box of old family photos. You may have noticed that I've been working a bit on the family history links on our Swamp River Ridge homepage . . . and that includes posting old pictures. :)

But on to the subject at hand. As I mentioned a time ago, a logger and his crew have been working almost directly across from the end of our driveway this winter (photos 1 & 2). Well, Tom started going down to chat with them, and we found out a very interesting, useful tidbit! For the bargain price of a $25 permit, we can haul up to 12 cords (that's TWELVE CORDS) out of their cut (of wood they've agreed to put aside for us)! Up here, in the land of heating with wood, that's a HUGE amount of wood for, basically, free.

So, in his "free time" (ha!), Tom had been making trips down with the 4-wheeler and small trailer (see 3rd picture) . . . until one of the two tires on the trailer blew. Fortunately, my folks took pity on us, and came out on Sunday for a couple of hours of woodworking. After the four of us cutting and hauling nearly all the wood that was (currently) ready from the logging site, my dad and Tom felled a couple of standing dead along the driveway (photo #4). Mom helped them load the bucked up trees into the pickup while I went inside to make dinner: Buffalo Whip-Up*.

[* We bought 50# of bison this fall and have been enjoying it since. I make casseroles - or hotdishes, depending on which part of the country you're from - with the meat, and each one is different. Hence the name 'Buffalo Whip-Up', and 'Buffalo' because it sounds a heck of a lot more interesting than 'Bison Whip-Up'. Although, my husband - with an air of hauty authority, if I do say so myself - informed me after one of the latest of these creations that it could only be 'bison' (domesticated) since our ancestors slaughtered all of the (wild) buffalo. Point taken. Still, 'Buffalo Whip-Up' sounds better.]

But, back to the loggers. On Saturday, I made a double batch of Jam Dandy Muffins for breakfast and sent half of the batch down with Tom on the 4-wheeler with a full thermos of fresh, hot coffee. On Monday, the loggers drove up to the house at the end of the day to return the Tupperware and thermos. We got to talking, and the old logger, a 67-year old who heads the operation, gets up at 3:15 every morning! And, true to form, by the time our alarm goes off at (a moderate, I guess!) 6:00 AM, we can already hear their equipment warming up! So, a little under two hours to get morning chores done at home and a sturdy breakfast in the belly, and then an hour drive out to the job site . . . and it's 6:00 before you know it! Ouch! The other "ouch" - and this one is even more painful: even though loggers never have any money to speak of, a lot sure does pass through their hands! This particular man, for running his operation on a 6-day-a-week basis (sometimes seven) spends . . . are you ready? . . . $12,000 a month on fuel. That's TWELVE THOUSAND a MONTH! Loggers are notoriously poor and notoriously hard-working. But, even if they're not working "for themselves", they generally get to work fairly independently, choosing their own (long) hours, and breathing the fresh air that they love. It's a helluva Catch-22, though, isn't it?!

Tom and were both a bit "off" today. Having to get the plow truck down to Superior, Wisconsin for transmission work, he'd looked at his schedule and decided today was the best day for him to be gone from work. So, we were up and dressed and all packed up for the "big day in the city" - me with my 3-page 'to do' list - and the truck wouldn't start. It was -20 this morning . . . a 50 degree drop from yesterday morning's unseasonable 30 above. And, there were massive winds which brought the windchill down to -54 or something like that. Exposed skin freezes in 10 minutes in weather like that (so I heard). Anyway, blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda: it was cold. And, the truck agreed. Despite soothing words and cajoling, it just wouldn't fire. Despite being hooked by jumper cables to another running vehicle, it just wouldn't fire. Despite the engine being warmed up by the salamander heater and some ingenious wind-blocking on Tom's part, it just wouldn't fire. After Tom wrestled with it for an hour, we finally gave up. No "big city" trip for us today. It will have to wait for a warmer day. We did get up to -10 today, though, and the winds have abated.