Tuesday, January 5, 2010

2010!

So, um, I decided that I'm going to avoid the rush and not set any New Year's Resolutions until February 1. Does that make me a procrastinator?

I don't have any pictures to post from Christmas or the RRR Reunion since they are still on my Dad's computer in Norfolk. I hope to have them by next week....I'm mailing my parents a zip drive to copy the pictures on, which they will need to mail back to me, along with my ring* that will have been resized by then. The sooner the the better!
*that means that you, mom, are in charge of this project ;)

Snow flurries here in the mountains every day since I've been back from Norfolk, and there was a dusting over the cars and driveway this morning. Its been in the high 20's and in the teens at night. Our yard is still very snowy, so we can't get the tractor back to the woodpile to load the woodpile in the carport. So today, the girls and I bundled up, kicked the pickup into 4WD and drove to the shed. I forgot about the three big hills of clay and rock off to the side in front of the shed and lurched precariously towards the creek. I smugly thought to myself, "Andy doesn't have to know about this...." But then, once I got out I realized what an idiot I am sometimes, as said hills are covered in SNOW and now bear very obvious evidence of a Chevrolet Silverado cruising overhead. He didn't have to be a detective to figure that one out.

I actually like getting wood. For one thing, its a bit of exercise and a chance to do some physical therapy on my arm. Course, after I come in, I take a couple Tylenols so I don't ache all afternoon. But I always think about when I had to get wood when we had our stove back home. I wear gloves, now, and wonder why ma and pa didn't tell me to wear gloves back then. You get better traction and you can cart more before your hands get tired or scraped. I also like to pretend that I am Laura Ingalls getting wood and that we need to stock up for a blizzard (The Long Winter, published 1934). That always inspires me to toss a couple more logs on the stack. Now that I know how to run the logsplitter (and, ahem, how the choke works), I always make a bucketful of "shims" or kindling, out of poplar. Poplar dries quickly and burns like paper. Its easy to light with the acetylene torch or whatever that thing is that we use to start the fire in the mornings.

The girls stayed out until their hands were bright red and Hannah said her knees were cold. They did have gloves, but Abbo keeps taking hers off and we have to hunt for them before we go inside so they're not lost till the Spring Thaw. Hannah chose to wear sweatpants today and kept kneeling in the snow, alas, her freezy kneezys. Now, they're both enjoying Ramen noodles in front of the woodstove before quiet time.

We've got ham and sweet potatoes on the menu for supper tonight and I think I'll inagurate the new KitchenAid mixer Andy gave me for Christmas by mixing a loaf of bread!

1 comment:

Anya said...

Guess what? I've decided that the entire month of January is resolution writing season. So I'm right there with you! And maybe you should come here and take my three older ones out in the snow. I haven't been brave enough to do that yet. :)