I realize that I haven't blogged for almost a month. This is not because I have had nothing to say, but more like I can't find the time when I am wearing THAT head and when I get to the next one, there is more happening and I figure I'll write about it, but ... I can't find the time so I go on to the next one... well I think you get the picture.
One head at a time then...
Country Store Clerk - she has been rather hurting in the work hours since the first of the year... as little as 16 a week, which is half of what I will take but not nearly enough. Everyone has been cut back, it's winter and the economy is lagging sales a bit, but really mostly it's winter. I "let it be known" among my coworkers that I would like more hours and they have been making a good effort to call ME (instead of our newest "warm body" AKA Miss TextALot) who just turned 18 and is in no way needing to support herself. So there is hope, as the snow birds return and more folks are out and about.
Hex Painter - I have one order on the table, albeit a large and relatively lucrative one: 2 identical 4' signs for a barn and two smaller ones for posts, one with the farm name in the border around the design. They proved somewhat hard to draw and to paint (most tend to be one or the other) but are almost done. I have applied to be juried for a booth at the Common Ground Fair (was rejected last year) and will be applying as well for a booth at the American Folk Festival which I think I have a good chance of getting. Not sure how lucrative it will be for me.. I need to have a bunch of stock painted up, as booth charges run $400 and have to be paid by mid-May if I am accepted. This may prove a challenge but I think I need to go for it. Selling just a couple of the 2' signs would cover the fee, to put it in perspective. I am also going to be attending two outdoor markets with both produce and my art, but more about that from Farmer Jj. I still have plans to paint the garage/outdoor workshop "barn red" and add a large (6' or larger) hex to the west face of the building.
Graphic Designer - As the hex sign business slowed, design has begun to pick up again. I have several projects on the table, including a print project for the Park Service at Cape Lookout, web and print work for my newest local Maine cleint, Dan Pelletier of MaineGuiding.com and I am doing a bit to help out my massage therapist, with updates and edits to the web site for River City Therapy and Wellness Center. I had considered letting Vision IPD go by the wayside, but the timing had not yet seemed right to terminate the business; now I am feeling led to be a bit more aggressive in my promotion, including (come actual spring) erecting my large sign after the garage/shop is painted.
Farmer - I am pleased to have scored a rototiller through Freecycle this winter and am planning to take it to the local shop for a once-over early in March. This, I am hoping, will be one more tool to help me keep the weeds at bay. I realize that one of my biggest problems is the runner grasses... but what beat down most of my crops last year were just plain ol' WEEDS. Getting Artie, the pickup, road-worthy is still on the top of the heap with increased emphasis this year. I had high hopes of making a good start with the proceeds from the big hex order, but alas those bucks went to am emergency repair for the Subaru. Eventually I will see those funds returned to me, but the timing here is unknown. With Artie running it will be possible for me to get inexpensive -- or even possibly free -- loads of manure and to haul straw which I will need as well. It also will make going to market a lot easier!
Speaking of market -- Stone Soup Collaborative (www.mainestonesoup.com, soon to be live) will be at the Downtown Bangor Market on Thursdays this summer, as well as being represented Thursday AM and Saturday on a regular basis at the Brewer Market... or at least that is the plan. We have been accepted at the former, just applied to the latter. Both allow artisan wares as well as produce, which is one of my main criteria for a market. The veggies pay the bills and allow the hex signs (and maybe other Crafty and herb-related wares) some exposure. I am determined to get a strawberry patch started this year, though the cash flow issues will have an impact on berry bushes that I had my eyes on, darn it!
I am planning to play with some lower cost greenhouse/cold frame/high- and low tunnel ideas this year, keeping in mind that portable units don't need building permits and (I am hoping) temporary structures don't either. This I must research... My goal is to prolong the season a bit for our fresh eating and maybe push the season a bit in the spring for market in 2011.
Newer plants for the garden this year include starting several dye plants, "baby bunching" leeks for market and hardy leeks that allegedly hold over winter with a simple straw mulch, here in Maine. We will see...
Caregiver - This is a hard head for me to name, let alone write about. K's health continues to decline and no one seems to be able to make any headway into putting the brakes on, let alone turning the tide. He is actually beginning to talk as if he were talking himself around the idea of wheeled transport, though he has yet to "give in" and use one of the varieties available at some of the stores we frequent. The last few trips to town he has been unable to complete our shopping at Walmart, being pushed to return to the car by pain and weakness. He often sleeps much better at night, but also still falls asleep during the day and retires earlier and earlier in the evening. Standing long enough to cook a burger is pushing his limits; he no longer is able to stand long enough to clean up after his cooking -- a fact that troubles him badly -- nor to do dishes or vacuum regularly. Thus, more an more of daily life tasks fall to me on an ongoing basis.
Home repair and maintenance projects will have to be brought into the equation this year... the plumbing has not gotten worse, but is not likely to improve on it's own (Can someone please invent self-healing pipes and apply them to this trailer retroactively?!) The roof WILL need work (this will likely be the year I learn to deal with metal roofing, IF I can come up with the $$, keep K off the roof and hire one of my local young friends, who has some knowledge of this material, to show me and help wrangle large metal kites up here on the hill) and the dog yard enlarged (a relatively cheap and easy project... I just need more long 1x4s from the local saw mill and a couple of days to cut and screw) and the front porch and steps re-designed and re-built.. with provisions for wheeled transport and fitting UNDER the greenhouse canopy in mind. Greenhouse is also on the wish list...
Volva - I continue to receive the Words of Wisdom, and tend the daily, weekly and other Fires. There are times I feel very far away from everything that matters most, but I know that it is temporary and mostly due to having too many heads and too little time (or maybe not enough practice switching heads while juggling hot irons and teakettles of steaming water, who knows! lol
Anyway, that's life "in the slow lane..."
"Oh, life on the farm, it's kinda laid back... " -John Denver
Friday, February 26, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Turning Wheel Moon
I know the Moons are called by many things, depending on the culture...
As I looked out to see the huge, bright light illuminating the fields and banks of snow (beautiful and newly fallen, it had blown and drifted leaving areas of the earth bare and filled in others...changes of hue and tone in the monochromatic landscape that accented the turning of the Wheel.
Just a few days ago, our misplaced (too late) and unseasonal (too warm) "January Thaw" took our snowpack average from 12" to a mere 2, showing furrows in the fields and garden, turning the lane to mud and leaving shrinking banks of black and brown much more suitable to March than January.
But as I contemplated by the Moon last eve, this Moon came by the name of "Turning Wheel Moon." The dark banks, not obscured, but accented by the forcefully drifted snow, and the patches of bare, muddy earth -- with footprints frozen once again in place -- spoke to the "hope for a good season" that fuels green-thumbed folks to pick up catalogues, place orders, and even begin tucking early seeds into pots warmed in the windowsills.
And the glistening, pristine drifts filling the distant lane and undulating across the fields told stories of more time for contemplation, preparation, thought and rest.
I love February. Not, as many say, because it is short and quickly over, bringing the overly anticipated spring. No, I love it because it eases us gently into the busy days of summer, giving us plentiful times for "catching up" on the winter's rest -- which often seems delayed by holiday madness in our modern world.
Candlemas, Groundhog Day, Imbolc, St. Brigid's day... whatever you call this time of the year, it IS a time of change. Here in the Northlands, the sun is rising visibly earlier each morning and lingering longer in the afternoon. For me, it rises now before 7 am, which means before long it will be awakening me, not the other way around, as I feel during the winter season. These holidays, spread over a few days in early February, accent for me the tidal nature of these seasonal changes. As the sun does not wake up one morning and jump over the horizon an hour earlier, neither do the changing seasons turn on a moment, or a day.
The feelings of change rise from twinges that motivate me to remove the holiday greens and douse the yard lighting, to joy at seeing jonquils and daffodils, harbingers of the growing light, lining florist shelves. The garden plan is in process, and I anxiously await the first early order of seeds -- leeks and lettuces, broccoli and cabbage -- for the window sill. The second order -- for later indoor starts and the first direct seeding in the ground -- will go out this week.
And I stand under the Turning Wheel Moon and hail the tides of change with the hope for a good season for all.
As I looked out to see the huge, bright light illuminating the fields and banks of snow (beautiful and newly fallen, it had blown and drifted leaving areas of the earth bare and filled in others...changes of hue and tone in the monochromatic landscape that accented the turning of the Wheel.
Just a few days ago, our misplaced (too late) and unseasonal (too warm) "January Thaw" took our snowpack average from 12" to a mere 2, showing furrows in the fields and garden, turning the lane to mud and leaving shrinking banks of black and brown much more suitable to March than January.
But as I contemplated by the Moon last eve, this Moon came by the name of "Turning Wheel Moon." The dark banks, not obscured, but accented by the forcefully drifted snow, and the patches of bare, muddy earth -- with footprints frozen once again in place -- spoke to the "hope for a good season" that fuels green-thumbed folks to pick up catalogues, place orders, and even begin tucking early seeds into pots warmed in the windowsills.
And the glistening, pristine drifts filling the distant lane and undulating across the fields told stories of more time for contemplation, preparation, thought and rest.
I love February. Not, as many say, because it is short and quickly over, bringing the overly anticipated spring. No, I love it because it eases us gently into the busy days of summer, giving us plentiful times for "catching up" on the winter's rest -- which often seems delayed by holiday madness in our modern world.
Candlemas, Groundhog Day, Imbolc, St. Brigid's day... whatever you call this time of the year, it IS a time of change. Here in the Northlands, the sun is rising visibly earlier each morning and lingering longer in the afternoon. For me, it rises now before 7 am, which means before long it will be awakening me, not the other way around, as I feel during the winter season. These holidays, spread over a few days in early February, accent for me the tidal nature of these seasonal changes. As the sun does not wake up one morning and jump over the horizon an hour earlier, neither do the changing seasons turn on a moment, or a day.
The feelings of change rise from twinges that motivate me to remove the holiday greens and douse the yard lighting, to joy at seeing jonquils and daffodils, harbingers of the growing light, lining florist shelves. The garden plan is in process, and I anxiously await the first early order of seeds -- leeks and lettuces, broccoli and cabbage -- for the window sill. The second order -- for later indoor starts and the first direct seeding in the ground -- will go out this week.
And I stand under the Turning Wheel Moon and hail the tides of change with the hope for a good season for all.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
and it begins again...
We'll be picking up wood in town today for not one, but TWO custom 4' hex signs. The order includes two smaller ones (20 inch and 24") that I'll start next.
This has been an expected order, somewhat delayed on account of (take your pick) Mercury having been retrograde OR the incompetence of the city post office employees. hummmm... that's a tough choice. LOL Anyway, regardless of the cause of the delay I did make contact with the customer again yesterday. We had been talking (yes, on the phone, blast it... ) and by post for some time, working out the details of his design and sizes but he had said that he would be away for the month of December and would be back in touch after the holidays.
Turns out, he sent a check and some other material to the PO box early on in the month of December, apparently just before leaving on vacation and it was returned. That is odd, because I had been getting orders by post there all through the holiday season! But I had fielded a phone call from someone in Maine state government earlier in the week saying something had been returned to them that was sent to Dutch Hex Sign at that address... So I guess I will inquire today when I am in town and really beat the issue later when I receive the package from the new customer (who is sending the whole shebang here to the studio).
In any case, I am glad to have this commission, glad it is continuing into the new cycle. I have been working a bit to connect up the web site with other sites that many generate local traffic (business directories for the Bangor area, etc.) and have done so with the design company as well. I am planning to put up the design "shingle" on the side of the garage as soon as I can reasonably get there, and still have in the back of my mind painting the building barn red to put a large hex on the west end.
Also after discussions with my friend with whom I co-marketed last year, I am ramping up the branding of Stone Soup Collaborative produce over the next few weeks.. We are considering adding some markets... we will see how that goes. I am interested in attending any that I can that will allow craft as well as produce and we have looked at one in Brewer...But it will have to be worked around everything else, of course.
And everything else now includes a standing counseling appt for K on Thurs AM. I will let them know, eventually, that if they get an opening on TU we would like to switch. That will make it easier.
One thing I can't do, though, is complain. I have work -- new work for both of my businesses. Could there be a bright light that is NOT a train, at the end of the recession tunnel?
This has been an expected order, somewhat delayed on account of (take your pick) Mercury having been retrograde OR the incompetence of the city post office employees. hummmm... that's a tough choice. LOL Anyway, regardless of the cause of the delay I did make contact with the customer again yesterday. We had been talking (yes, on the phone, blast it... ) and by post for some time, working out the details of his design and sizes but he had said that he would be away for the month of December and would be back in touch after the holidays.
Turns out, he sent a check and some other material to the PO box early on in the month of December, apparently just before leaving on vacation and it was returned. That is odd, because I had been getting orders by post there all through the holiday season! But I had fielded a phone call from someone in Maine state government earlier in the week saying something had been returned to them that was sent to Dutch Hex Sign at that address... So I guess I will inquire today when I am in town and really beat the issue later when I receive the package from the new customer (who is sending the whole shebang here to the studio).
In any case, I am glad to have this commission, glad it is continuing into the new cycle. I have been working a bit to connect up the web site with other sites that many generate local traffic (business directories for the Bangor area, etc.) and have done so with the design company as well. I am planning to put up the design "shingle" on the side of the garage as soon as I can reasonably get there, and still have in the back of my mind painting the building barn red to put a large hex on the west end.
Also after discussions with my friend with whom I co-marketed last year, I am ramping up the branding of Stone Soup Collaborative produce over the next few weeks.. We are considering adding some markets... we will see how that goes. I am interested in attending any that I can that will allow craft as well as produce and we have looked at one in Brewer...But it will have to be worked around everything else, of course.
And everything else now includes a standing counseling appt for K on Thurs AM. I will let them know, eventually, that if they get an opening on TU we would like to switch. That will make it easier.
One thing I can't do, though, is complain. I have work -- new work for both of my businesses. Could there be a bright light that is NOT a train, at the end of the recession tunnel?
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Hope for a Good Season
Farmers and fishermen have something big in common... The Hope for a Good Season that keeps us coming back, be it to earth or to sea. (PS... the author of that wonderful book is a friend from NC).
So, once again I prepare to come back to the garden. This year the seed orders are going in piecemeal, in bits to get them here in time for planting.
Thus far I have ordered from JUNGS, three cauliflowers: Cheddar (a yellowish-orange head) Graffiti (purple) and Panther (green head, but cauli, not broc.) Did this order online. None of my caulis did well this past year, but I will try again.
Monday I will get the $$ out of the CU (from savings) for the FEDCO order, which is much larger and includes (this time)
LEEKS Lincoln (which I am hoping to take as early, small gourmet "bunching leeks" to the Thursday market) and Bleu do Solaize, which is touted as having decent overwinter survivability even here in Maine with only straw for protection. I would like to hope it is possible... the freezer full of leeks, even though they are sealing securely in freezer bags, is giving a taste or scent of leek to things that should not have it, such as MooseTracks ice cream, according to K. Now, I haven't any confirmation of that...but then his senses are so over the top I am not sure it would be an issue to anyone else. But still, fresh leeks would be nice...
LETTUCE (a passle of them) a Summer mix which is supposed to stand into July without bolting (going to seed), a Winter mix that supposedly has the potential to overwinter with protection (motivation to get some sort of tunnel system going) as well as some of our usual favorites: Black Seeded Simpson (the old standard green leaf lettuce) Slobolt, Royal Oakleaf, Cardinale (red Batvian variety) and Summertime and Webbs Wonderful as attempts at head lettuce once again. Last year they all rotted due to too much rain, but were good early on as I picked outer leaves to add to the lettuce mix for market.
BROCCOLI -- I ordered a mix this year, to see what will happen and save a bit of $$. This is just for our eating.
PEPPERS Klari Baby Cheese (supposedly good for the "pepper challenged" to grow, and that includes me) and Peacework
TOMATOES the Heirloom mix (again for variety to experiment with and save $$) as well as Bellstar past tomato and Oregon Spring, Ida Gold (yes, a tomato with the same name as the potato) to lean a little heavier on the early varieties. Oregon Spring has grown well for me in the past.
CABBAGES: Golden Acre (early, round variety) Bartolo (late variety that is touted for storage as one that "will hold and hold") and the savoy variety called Frigga, just because I had to!
... and it begins...
So, once again I prepare to come back to the garden. This year the seed orders are going in piecemeal, in bits to get them here in time for planting.
Thus far I have ordered from JUNGS, three cauliflowers: Cheddar (a yellowish-orange head) Graffiti (purple) and Panther (green head, but cauli, not broc.) Did this order online. None of my caulis did well this past year, but I will try again.
Monday I will get the $$ out of the CU (from savings) for the FEDCO order, which is much larger and includes (this time)
LEEKS Lincoln (which I am hoping to take as early, small gourmet "bunching leeks" to the Thursday market) and Bleu do Solaize, which is touted as having decent overwinter survivability even here in Maine with only straw for protection. I would like to hope it is possible... the freezer full of leeks, even though they are sealing securely in freezer bags, is giving a taste or scent of leek to things that should not have it, such as MooseTracks ice cream, according to K. Now, I haven't any confirmation of that...but then his senses are so over the top I am not sure it would be an issue to anyone else. But still, fresh leeks would be nice...
LETTUCE (a passle of them) a Summer mix which is supposed to stand into July without bolting (going to seed), a Winter mix that supposedly has the potential to overwinter with protection (motivation to get some sort of tunnel system going) as well as some of our usual favorites: Black Seeded Simpson (the old standard green leaf lettuce) Slobolt, Royal Oakleaf, Cardinale (red Batvian variety) and Summertime and Webbs Wonderful as attempts at head lettuce once again. Last year they all rotted due to too much rain, but were good early on as I picked outer leaves to add to the lettuce mix for market.
BROCCOLI -- I ordered a mix this year, to see what will happen and save a bit of $$. This is just for our eating.
PEPPERS Klari Baby Cheese (supposedly good for the "pepper challenged" to grow, and that includes me) and Peacework
TOMATOES the Heirloom mix (again for variety to experiment with and save $$) as well as Bellstar past tomato and Oregon Spring, Ida Gold (yes, a tomato with the same name as the potato) to lean a little heavier on the early varieties. Oregon Spring has grown well for me in the past.
CABBAGES: Golden Acre (early, round variety) Bartolo (late variety that is touted for storage as one that "will hold and hold") and the savoy variety called Frigga, just because I had to!
... and it begins...
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Finding Abundance in a $25 stove
The way I live, the way I work, there is no separation, no difference between material and spiritual. To me, that division smacks of being a "Christmas and Easter-" ( or even just a Sunday-) Christian. I guess that might translate to a Samhain and Beltane Pagan?
Any way, in the veins of As Above, So Below and the converse, I have been mulling about the recent demise of my oven and my search for its replacement, which will not be another wall mounted oven (which is not good for a short old cook, as climbing ladders while hoisting heavy fowl, roasts or even pans of batter is NOT FUN.) Instead, I have opted to replace said oven and the island with cooktop with a standard, everyday gas (propane) range. This will likely give me a larger oven, as well as one more in keeping withe my stature.
The "gotcha" in all this is, of course, there was no "replacement stove" category in the budget and no slush fund that could be shoveled over to fill that missing category. We ain't hurting, we ain't broke, but extra money... well it's in a bit of a short supply... so off to hassle the Ethers I went with emphasis on "cheap" or "free" via such venues as Freecycle and Craigs List. One thing I noticed straight off -- all of the used stoves I found on by any of the second had resources were listed at $300 or more. Yikes... at that price a bottom of the line NEW one would be pushing into the picture!
Then I found one, on Craigs list (which is normally a total bus for me) for $25. Not a half-dead near antique, either (I asked for a photo) nor clear across the state, it looked quite perfect to fill the bill and we were even able to negotiate pick up for this weekend, rather than last, which was the sellers' preference. Yeah, I need a stove but not bad enough to push it in predicted blizzard conditions.
An email to a friend was all it took to secure loan of a trailer to pull behind the Subaru for transport (even if the farm truck was safe and legal, stove is outside the roaming distance for legal farm truck operation, and with a PayPal transaction, the deal was sealed.
And then another friend showed me a new listing in Uncle Henry's for a FREE one... at about the same distance.
What does this tell me?? It shows me that abundance IS INDEED manifesting in my life. I did not need to wait for the free stove to appear, nor did I have one moment of regret over having "missed" that deal. No, that stove is undoubtedly destined for someone for whom $25 would be a big deal... a deal breaker big deal.
And my new stove will come home on Saturday.
Any way, in the veins of As Above, So Below and the converse, I have been mulling about the recent demise of my oven and my search for its replacement, which will not be another wall mounted oven (which is not good for a short old cook, as climbing ladders while hoisting heavy fowl, roasts or even pans of batter is NOT FUN.) Instead, I have opted to replace said oven and the island with cooktop with a standard, everyday gas (propane) range. This will likely give me a larger oven, as well as one more in keeping withe my stature.
The "gotcha" in all this is, of course, there was no "replacement stove" category in the budget and no slush fund that could be shoveled over to fill that missing category. We ain't hurting, we ain't broke, but extra money... well it's in a bit of a short supply... so off to hassle the Ethers I went with emphasis on "cheap" or "free" via such venues as Freecycle and Craigs List. One thing I noticed straight off -- all of the used stoves I found on by any of the second had resources were listed at $300 or more. Yikes... at that price a bottom of the line NEW one would be pushing into the picture!
Then I found one, on Craigs list (which is normally a total bus for me) for $25. Not a half-dead near antique, either (I asked for a photo) nor clear across the state, it looked quite perfect to fill the bill and we were even able to negotiate pick up for this weekend, rather than last, which was the sellers' preference. Yeah, I need a stove but not bad enough to push it in predicted blizzard conditions.
An email to a friend was all it took to secure loan of a trailer to pull behind the Subaru for transport (even if the farm truck was safe and legal, stove is outside the roaming distance for legal farm truck operation, and with a PayPal transaction, the deal was sealed.
And then another friend showed me a new listing in Uncle Henry's for a FREE one... at about the same distance.
What does this tell me?? It shows me that abundance IS INDEED manifesting in my life. I did not need to wait for the free stove to appear, nor did I have one moment of regret over having "missed" that deal. No, that stove is undoubtedly destined for someone for whom $25 would be a big deal... a deal breaker big deal.
And my new stove will come home on Saturday.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Happy Yule! Turning The Wheel...
There is much energy of change floating around out there at present. I have been feeling it for some time, K noted it last night as well. And others -- even those who are not aware or sure of what they are feeling -- are responding to it as well. I see it in their words and actions.
Yule is -- by it's nature -- a "tide" and not a time, not a moment, an instant, a day.... but rather a period of time where the changes ebb and flow, washing over us all and over the world as it spins through space. It's a good time to let go of things whose time is over. It is a good time to tidy up, both in material and non-material spaces, and prepare to begin moving forward again as the light grows.
As the energies of the first night and day of the tide begin to wane, with Mother Night behind us and the rest of the days ahead, take time especially to remember the Mothers. For me the first of these is AllMother, Frigga, the Lady of the Hearth. It is for her I light my candle on the hearth and keep it burning. And there are my ancestresses..... Dorothea, Katherina and on back... Hail the Mothers, who keep the hearth fires burning. Hail to the Mothers who light the lamps and soothe the tears. Hail to the Mothers who take up arms in righteous causes, in the homeland and in the defense of same. Hail to the Mothers who struggle uphill against the odds; may they prevail in all their righteous desires. Hail!
Yule is -- by it's nature -- a "tide" and not a time, not a moment, an instant, a day.... but rather a period of time where the changes ebb and flow, washing over us all and over the world as it spins through space. It's a good time to let go of things whose time is over. It is a good time to tidy up, both in material and non-material spaces, and prepare to begin moving forward again as the light grows.
As the energies of the first night and day of the tide begin to wane, with Mother Night behind us and the rest of the days ahead, take time especially to remember the Mothers. For me the first of these is AllMother, Frigga, the Lady of the Hearth. It is for her I light my candle on the hearth and keep it burning. And there are my ancestresses..... Dorothea, Katherina and on back... Hail the Mothers, who keep the hearth fires burning. Hail to the Mothers who light the lamps and soothe the tears. Hail to the Mothers who take up arms in righteous causes, in the homeland and in the defense of same. Hail to the Mothers who struggle uphill against the odds; may they prevail in all their righteous desires. Hail!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Crunchy snow!
I went out today into snow that crunched under my feet! Admittedly it was only the fact that the previous fall had melted, slightly, in the mist that fell yesterday, but it was enough to finally make me FEEL the beginning of the Yuletide season. 'Bout time, eh? LOL
We have outdoor trees up, but not lit yet and the indoor tree finally in place, but not decorated yet either. On account of Coffee (aka The Pup That Ate Corinth) I had to look to something much smaller than usual and placed on a table. I cut the tree at a friend's place where I tipped for wreaths a while back. These "free range" trees, not being kept in captivity and force fed, are much leaner and lankier than the typical "Christmas tree" and I often have issues with their trunks and my stand... and this year presented a unique challenge.
The very scrawny trunk on the tree (the top part of a taller one) was only a little over an inch in diameter, way too small for even the replacement bolts that I refitted to the stand to securely hold. In the end I cut a piece of pvc pipe, which the bolts did hold, and K whittled the trunk diameter to fit inside the pipe. The tree can still drink and it is held securely enough. Hopefully it will be decorated tomorrow.
Yesterday, "town day" ended up taking much longer than expected but in this case it was a good thing. We had forgotten to calendar a rescheduled doc appt. for K until the reminder phone call Monday afternoon. So that got added to the list, and while we were in that building we decided to stop by another office to see about the reschedule of a different appointment that we had canceled during the previous week's storm. The person he had been supposed to see just happened to be at their front desk, reporting a "no-snow" for that exact moment, so she pulled K into the slot. A good thing... all appts are back on track ... but set the day's errands later and the outside home work that I was going to do when we got back (other than bringing in the tree) sifted to today.
And is done... in advance of the coming "deep freeze" and despite a brisk, rather cool breeze. The main chores included:
Now I have a couple of hours until I have to leave for work, so I'll fuss a little more on that hex, hopefully get it sprayed with overcoat and wash dishes. Hopefully I'll feel like working on monkeys when I get home tonight!
We have outdoor trees up, but not lit yet and the indoor tree finally in place, but not decorated yet either. On account of Coffee (aka The Pup That Ate Corinth) I had to look to something much smaller than usual and placed on a table. I cut the tree at a friend's place where I tipped for wreaths a while back. These "free range" trees, not being kept in captivity and force fed, are much leaner and lankier than the typical "Christmas tree" and I often have issues with their trunks and my stand... and this year presented a unique challenge.
The very scrawny trunk on the tree (the top part of a taller one) was only a little over an inch in diameter, way too small for even the replacement bolts that I refitted to the stand to securely hold. In the end I cut a piece of pvc pipe, which the bolts did hold, and K whittled the trunk diameter to fit inside the pipe. The tree can still drink and it is held securely enough. Hopefully it will be decorated tomorrow.
Yesterday, "town day" ended up taking much longer than expected but in this case it was a good thing. We had forgotten to calendar a rescheduled doc appt. for K until the reminder phone call Monday afternoon. So that got added to the list, and while we were in that building we decided to stop by another office to see about the reschedule of a different appointment that we had canceled during the previous week's storm. The person he had been supposed to see just happened to be at their front desk, reporting a "no-snow" for that exact moment, so she pulled K into the slot. A good thing... all appts are back on track ... but set the day's errands later and the outside home work that I was going to do when we got back (other than bringing in the tree) sifted to today.
And is done... in advance of the coming "deep freeze" and despite a brisk, rather cool breeze. The main chores included:
...an attempt to repair a rip in the foundation's plastic "windbreaker" with duct tape (which doesn't like to stick in frigid temps, but was persuaded -- I think -- by judicious applications of heat from the heat gun. Helped me to work sans gloves as well... tearing duct tape with fuzzy gloves is not optimal. ;)
...topping off the coolant in the Subaru
...taking out trash and unusable cardboard
...bring in cardboard for packaging the last hex shipment of 2009, tomorrow
...crawling under the trailer to plug in the pipes heat tape.
...topping off the coolant in the Subaru
...taking out trash and unusable cardboard
...bring in cardboard for packaging the last hex shipment of 2009, tomorrow
...crawling under the trailer to plug in the pipes heat tape.
Now I have a couple of hours until I have to leave for work, so I'll fuss a little more on that hex, hopefully get it sprayed with overcoat and wash dishes. Hopefully I'll feel like working on monkeys when I get home tonight!
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