Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Somebody's Stealing My Hours

Okay, so I realize we're coming up on the shortest day of the year.  Dawn these mornings seems to take for-EVER to arrive while 4:30 p.m. and complete darkness arrives . . . right after lunch it seems.

So daylight is definitely in short supply.  But come on, folks, we have electricity and a lot of lights and lamps in our house so there's no reason I should feel as if these days are super-short and going by at warp speed.  But I do.

Once again I'd like to issue a public apology to those of you whose e-mails have been languishing in my In Box waiting for a reply. It WILL happen.  It's just that the herd of turtles (that is propelling me along these days) is not moving very fast.

Each day I promise myself I'm going to get caught up reading all of your blog posts and get back to regular posting myself, but one thing or another keeps pulling me away from doing so.  (Ha!  Right now it's the timer telling me to go take bread out of the ovenBack in two shakes . . . )

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We're still involved with moving Chicken Mama out of Swamp River Ridge and the Oatmeal Bread (cooling on the counter) and Cheddar-Cauliflower soup I made earlier is to be lunch for the crew of five we'll have working there tomorrow.  It's scheduled to be another big push day and we're hoping the 50% chance of snow doesn't fall on our parade.

Our wonderful neighbor to the east told us a week or so ago that he was offered an 8' x 12' solidly constructed wooden shed if he would move it off a client's property.  D said he'd be glad to set it up on his property and let Chicken Mama use it for storage.

We simply couldn't ask for better neighbors and friends than these folks.  We feel so blessed to have them in our lives.


So D and Papa Pea spent part of yesterday and a couple of hours this morning getting it up on  our flat bed trailer and moving it (very slowly and carefully) the 15 or so miles to D's property where it is ready for some of Chicken Mama's packed away things.  (I think she's moving some boxes in there as we speak.)

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I finally got some Almond Spritz cookies baked today to round out the Christmas cookie selection.  I swear spritz cookies are so temperamental that each year I should just plan on eating (quickly before anyone sees them) the first batch (or tossing it into the compost heap maybe even) because they come out so misshapen.  It takes me the whole batch of dough to get the "feel" of the press and be able to turn out something that actually is recognizable as a wreath or Christmas tree.  My spritz cookies are never pretty.

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Yessir, 'tis busy enough around here and I'm not finding adequate time in each waking day to do half of what I want to do.  The only explanation is that somebody is stealing my hours.  And I want it to stop!     

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just to add to your to do list... can you email or post the recipe to this chedder cauliflower soup you speak of for your curious nephew? :)

Tombstone Livestock said...

Good evening ... sounds like you are more than busy, short days or not. Take care, enjoy the days counting down to Christmas.

Anonymous said...

No worries, you will get your mojo back eventually :)

Mama Pea said...

Dear Curious Nephew - It's your dum-dum aunt here having to ask . . . which nephew are you??? (I feel really stoopid asking that but I can't figure it out!)

I'm sure I've posted the recipe for the soup previously, but do you think I can find it in my posts? I won't have time to post it tomorrow but will try to get it up on Friday.

Mama Pea said...

Tombstone Livestock - Boy, there sure aren't many days left in the count down, are there? Yikes.

Mama Pea said...

Stephanie - I really think it's time I need more than mojo. What's changed so much these past several weeks? I think I've always had full days but could make time for the Blogworld. Not so, it seems, right now. Grumpf.

Susan said...

Must be the same varmint that is stealing MY hours! Shall we put out a reward on his/her head? Holidays are always stealing hours, without the addition of The Move. What wonderful neighbors you have! And thank goodnes (again) for the flat bed trailer. I would generously offer to accept all your spritz cookie failures, but (sob) I cannot, dammit. I bet there are plenty of takers, though! Hang in there, kid.

Lisa said...

I'm with Susan.... I've got the same varmint too! My hat goes off to you in keeping up with your cooking and baking AND helping your daughter move. Hang in there. You're a good mom.

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

I am jealous of that shed. I see it as a new chicken coop. But I just have to know..how did you get it on the trailer in one piece. That is the hard part. I find many a good shed but they are too big to get on the trailer easily and transport. What was your secret?

FoxyLady said...

Who cares if they are pretty when they are spritz?! They are sooo yummy! If they are going to be on display for a special doing or company, that's different. My hubby doesn't get excited about spritz so I seldom make them anymore....why? because I would eat them all myself. :)Foxy Lady

Mama Pea said...

Susan - Thanks for the always encouraging words.

Anyone who has never had to stick to a way of eating that isn't "normal" has no idea how hard it is. Our social rituals are ALL connected with food. And to not be able to enjoy things like Christmas cookies is sooooo hard. You have my sympathies and understanding!

Mama Pea said...

Lisa - Well, ya know, I was seriously considering not doing any holiday baking this year at all. But it's such an integral part of the festivities that I just couldn't NOT bake the holiday favorites!

Thank you for saying I'm a good mom. But as all of us moms know, we wish we were better. (If we weren't so human, it might be easier!)

Mama Pea said...

Jane - D and hubby were able to get the building on the flat bed by working slowly and carefully. (They're both like that for which I'm very grateful!)

First they built skids to go under the shed. Jacked it up and bolted on the skids. Our flat bed has a tilt bed and winch on it so next they jacked up (handi-jack on either side) the front of the shed, tilted the trailer bed down in back and got it under the end of the shed and attached the winch to the skids to pull it onto the trailer as much as they could. Then they repeated the process with the jacks, backing the trailer farther under the shed, winching it forward, etc. They couldn't get it quite to the front of the trailer bed (or the bed down level) with the winch so D backed his 1-ton work truck up to the back of the trailer where his bumper (which is really a heavy steel channel) met perfectly with the skids under the shed and he was able to push it the rest of the way onto the trailer.

The part that freaked Papa Pea out was driving the truck and trailer with shed back to it's new home on the icy roads. Nuthin' like winter time driving conditions to add a little fun to the mix!

Mama Pea said...

Foxy Lady - Ha! It must be a guy thing! The man in the house here doesn't care much for spritz either (which is funny 'cause he's SUCH a cookie monster), but this mom and daughter really like them!

Misty Pines Homestead said...

One thing-So much to do and so little time(giggles)

Mama Pea said...

Annnightflyer - Ya know, I think the feeling is quite common with folks who like to be self-sufficient (or as much so as possible) and have a lot of interests. (But we're never bored, are we?) :o)

Erin said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one whose first batch of spritz is always a mess! I hardly ever make them but when I do it's a major ordeal, that and rosettes... apparently that's a dying art as well but I will crank them out every few years, my mom always made them at Christmas :) What great neighbors you have! This whole winter is going by too fast... I am really behind on everything and havent' "done" anything it seems!