Monday, December 20, 2010

A Hodge-Podge of a Day

Even though we went to bed early (9:30) last night, when the alarm went off at 6 a.m. I needed a crane to help me out of bed. Then I stumbled around for a half hour before I felt halfway human. Too much sleep? No such thing. Just winter time. Dark. Want to hibernate.

Our lady carpenter friend, B, arrived at 8 a.m. to help hubby on some work inside the garage. She is such a sweetheart that it's more of a fun, laughing day to have her here than anything else. Besides, she brought presents. Christmas presents. A colorful bookmark she wove for me and some special thingie-bops for hubby. I still don't understand what they are . . . a tool/garage related thing. Plus a plateful of homemade cookies. Yum. She ran into the post office in town at noon because she was expecting a box of citrus fruit from a client that winters in the south. One-third of the box was pink grapefruit which she doesn't care for so she left them with us. Can't beat "help" like that.

We've had a very scroungy-looking timber wolf lurking around the property for a couple of months now. I hate to see an animal that doesn't look like it's in the best of health. B said she saw it on the first part of the driveway as she drove in this morning. Guess it can't be too sickly 'cause it's still around and can move quickly when it wants to. I've been trying to get a picture, but no success so far.

I had coffee with a good friend that is leaving Thursday for a six-week or so driving trip to three of her kids and their families scattered across the country. Her husband passed away ten years ago, but she doesn't hesitate to pack the car and head out on her own.
I admire her wonderful, upbeat personality and zest for life. She says she may be home earlier than six weeks because maybe the kids will get tired of her and boot her out. I cannot imagine that. She would be about the easiest house guest to have.

Got a few more presents wrapped today. I don't understand it. We don't exchange that many gifts. Why does it seem like there are so many when it comes time to wrap them?

The ashes in the Jotul were starting to choke the very life out of the wood stove so I had to let the fire die out today so I could shovel them out. I've decided we could save a lot of wood if we didn't feed the stove during the day. Even on this gray, damp day with no sun the house didn't get cooler than 64 degrees by the time I cleaned out the stove at 4:30. 'Course, my nose is more than a little cold as I'm typing this but it will warm up soon.

I'm wondering if hubby and I don't change clothes often enough. I had only two loads of laundry today; one light and one dark. Seems to me when you wear more layers in the winter time as opposed to just shorts and tank tops in the summer, there would be more laundry in the winter. But it doesn't seem to work that way for us. I think it must be because in the summer we sweat so much (well, glisten in my case) and there's no choice of whether to wear an outfit more than one day. And let's face it. I'm not crawling around in the garden in the winter and hubby has insulated coveralls on whenever he's outside these days. So I guess we really don't get dirty. Or smell. Umm, do we??

We are forecast to get 6-10" of snow tonight through tomorrow noon. If only. Sure would be nice to see. I even did some town errands this afternoon so I could stay home and enjoy the new snow tomorrow. I'll be happy to be out shoveling if we do get any appreciable amount.

Okay, gonna go do my snow dance now while scaring up something for dinner. Snow report tomorrow morning.

13 comments:

Kaytee said...

It's always nice to spend some time with friends, especially this time of the year. And it's even better when they bring cookies and grapefruit!

A wolf?! I'd LOVE to see a wolf in the wild. I went to school to study wildlife because I wanted to work with them. Then I decided that I really didn't want to work out west. Still would be neat to see!

Jennifer Jo said...

So now I understand why I'm always tired even though I'm getting a full night's sleep. It's dark! It's winter! My body says it's time to sleep!

Thanks for explaining that. I really was at a loss.

Erin said...

I'm SNOW DANCING!

The Apple Pie Gal said...

In the summer tanks and shorts, in the winter it's just pj bottoms. Shower and put on a different pair.

Hope you get your snow! We have about 4" of new fluffy stuff too.

Mama Pea said...

Kaytee - If you were up here, you'd see them frequently. We have brush wolves (coyotes) and timber wolves. Most of the time the timber wolves are very big and beautiful. The coyotes are smaller, skinnier, and not pretty!

JJ - That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Erin - I think you're dancing for a totally different reason.

APG - You're running around with a bare nekkid top?? No wonder you have a happy husband. (Sorry, I just couldn't pass that up.)

Jenyfer Matthews said...

LOL - I think you are one of the only people I've seen online asking for MORE snow!

The laundry? You know that only the layer closes to your skin gets dirty :)

The Apple Pie Gal said...

When I saw your response this morning I was so confused! I came back and now I see that I really did leave that door open, huh?

Ya got me good on that one! :oD Tops too missy.

Sue said...

Ooo-keeping my fingers crossed that you get your snow! And , could you save a WEE bit of that storm to send my way??? Gosh, you're a good pal!
:D

We had a pack of wolves up in the U.P. by our house. I hated it-they are the creepiest sounding things when they howl. Worse yet is when they "get something"-oh, the noise is horrible. Is yours alone? That would be odd.........

As for the heat, we leave ours off at night. The house has never gotten below 63, and with that cool temp (and a pile of wonderful flannel sheets and quilts!), the sleep you get is deep and heavenly!

I better quit-boy, I'm babbling this morning. Gonna talk your head off before you even get enough coffee in ya.........
:)

Kelly said...

A wolf? How neat. I don't believe I have ever seen one in the wild. I think sleeping in should be a requirement on dark days like these.

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

I want a lady carpenter for Christmas. I bet she comes when she says she will, gets the job done, and doesn't 'readjust' herself when your having a conversation with her. Excuse me while I change my letter to Santa.

Mama Pea said...

Jen - We DO always have the requisite number of underwear pieces in the wash! I promise.

APG - Tee-hee! Gotcha!

Sue - Yes, we've heard the wolves take down an animal and it does make your blood curdle. But -- 'tis the natural thing for wild animals.

Thoroughly enjoyed your 'letter' this morning. Keep it up.

Kelly - We need to look back at our ancestors before electricity. Asleep when it got dark, up when it got light!

Jane - You are so right. This gal has been in business here for over 20 years, has never advertised, and has as much business as she wants. On top of that she's super-conscientious and as honest as the day is long. We're fortunate to have her as someone to call on for construction help and she's a loyal friend. Wow, we ARE lucky.

Dirt Lover said...

I've been reading your posts for awhile now, and I don't think you smell at all, so your lack of laundry issue is fine from where I'm sitting. Glory in the fact that you only have 2 loads!! Hope you get your snow. I will help out with a little snow dance here for you, too.
~~Lori

Mama Pea said...

Lori - So glad to hear we've passed your whiff test! And thanks for the snow dance . . . I think it worked!