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Today has been a busy and extremely emotional day.
Mindy, our 13 year old much-loved cat had to be put to sleep today. She had developed something bad on her spine - the discs were compressed. The vet wasn't even sure if it was arthritis or some sort of injury, but she was in a lot of pain. She could no longer arch her back, causing her to retain her urine, which seemed to be the cause of the bladder infection a few weeks back. Dale had taken her in to the vet yesterday and they had done x-rays. Jo went along - the vet had kindly explained all that he could to her while she was there.
That didn't stop last night from being very rough. On her. And everyone in earshot. Jo has a very loud voice, and when she is in full bawl, oig. She was very, very upset, and couldn't quite understand why Mindy couldn't be well again. That would have been fantastic, but the vet didn't hold out much hope on keeping her comfortable.
So, this morning, Mindy had her last cuddles with Jo. The girls wrote letters and drew pictures and sent her off with a decorated shoebox to come home in. And the bawling continued.
Please don't think me insensitive. I am still upset myself. However, you needed to hear Jo to understand. I tried to let her cry it out. I tried to comfort her, talk it out, Dale showed her feline age calculators on the internet. She was just devastated and nothing would make her stop crying.
Until she met "Flash".
Flash is a four-week old kitten who should still be with her mommy, but she was abandoned and brought to the vet's office. Jo had been playing with Flash while Mindy was in X-ray yesterday. The ladies at the office told Jo that she wasn't old enough to go home yet, but that she would be up for adoption in a few weeks.
Right. Have you seen an eight year old's letter to her kitty "on the road to heaven" ? It is enough to break anyone's heart. Or at least make the vet clinic bend a few rules.
So, today, since the girls had to go get haircuts in town anyway, Flash got herself a new, very dedicated owner. And Joey is laughing again. We'll have to go get the new kitty some shots in a few weeks, but we have now adopted a shelter cat.
I'm sure that some parenting manual would have told me to make her grieve longer, but at least now we have time to get this little thing used to the farm before harvest and school start.
Char was also upset, by the way, but took things more quietly - she took a little walk by herself after we buried Mindy. Char was extremely concerned about Jo, though, so she was problem solving and encouraging her to adopt Flash every time Jo cried.
We still have to introduce Pixie to the new arrival, but she is in hiding from Tahi, so I need to wait for her to get hungry first. So I guess this is actually a tale of four kitties, but that isn't nearly as good of a pun.
Hello readers! Since you are predominately my family, and since you have all been here within the last month, I thought I'd give a quick rundown of the lost and found items here:
- pink ball cap with princesses
- red swim shirt - Cars
- red trunks - navy hibiscus print
- green/blue toothbrush
- sony camera w/ case
- various drawings with "dear Tante" or "dear Uncle" on them
- pink sock, stained
- blue sock with 95 on it
- blue soother with Superman logo
- waterbottle - clear with black top - says Tucson, AZ on it
- blue shirt - "fast vintage hot rods" - possibly the youngest's?
- pampers wipes
- odds & ends of toiletries, scrubs, etc.
- umpteen dinky cars, motorcycles, etc.
- one "oriental chicken tenders" recipe
- one pair panties - size ten girls - or those may be from camp...
Now, I have yet to go through my office, my desk and most of my house. This is just what came up on my surface cleaning - the stuff that happened before I put down dozens of muffins, loaves and bags of vegetables today. See, the garden finally came in. After you all left. I find that somewhat ironic. Or at least poorly timed.
Anyway, since it looks like I have to do care packages up for all of you, please let me know what all you have actually missed, so I can send it along. Otherwise I will keep it, as usual, on my dresser until you return.
That's how I show you I care. Except mom & dad - their stuff gets thrown in their camper. Love you anyway - hope you had a great anniversary, parents!
Sorry I haven't been blogging much lately. Things are still busy on the farm. The kids continue to have a vibrant social life, which in turn means that I have none.
And, I started a project. A "linda" project. When I went to open the cabin, more floor tiles (slightly ugly, true linoleum) had removed themselves. I had already had difficulty keeping the floor clean last year because of the lifted tiles. So, being me, I decided to lift all the tiles. I thought that a smoothly painted subfloor would be a better option than the horrible broken/lifted tiles.
Now, 6 weeks (at least. Maybe more) later I am almost to the end of this lifting task. See, when this cabin was built originally, it was built well. So the person who put down the tile had done a good job. Curse him. The tiles that were lifting were due to the people who have had the cabin for the last while that didn't take care of it. Anywhere that the floor was wet the tiles had partially lifted.
Where the tiles are dry, they remain stuck to the floor. And linoleum tile does not remove easily once stuck. If you are especially deft with a putty knife, you might be able to lift part of the edges of the tile. But then the thing will break, and you'll never get that putty knife under the whole tile again.
So, the tough top surface (the actual flax product) chips off. You're left with black tarpaper type stuff on the subfloor. This is too thick to scrape and it will gum up your tools. Sanding is not an option, since the sandpaper would gum up.
Well, my mind doesn't stagnate in the home. I took an old iron (actually, it came with the cabin) and started melting off the tarpaper. It works remarkably well - so well that I have since purchased another ten dollar iron to continue my work. After a few minutes on "linen", it is possible to take a giant razor blade and scrape the subfloor until it is clear of crud. Well, mostly. The adhesive is still kind of there.
Then you wash the floor, which is extremely challenging when you have no water. It must be boiling water that you wash with, and that will melt the adhesive long enough for you to mop it into a bucket. It smells really awful.
However, I am almost done. I was thinking of painting this weekend. So before I left for the lake today, I had asked Dale to come out and maybe we'd look at removing the game cabinet that was in the cabin and take down some inner cladding that was still wet and moldy. The roof is on the things to do list this year too.
Dale brought his wrecking bar, his skilsaw, his rotary tool (just in case we had to replace bits of subfloor.) He took down the wall. We only have to replace the two stub walls and some studs beside the fireplace and a few roofing boards. Not as scary as we thought it might be.
Now this is when Dale started his project. He started to take apart the cabinet. I had tried with a little rubber mallet to no effect. He went full bore at the thing with the wrecking bar. About half an hour later, he was almost done - only two side pieces to go. After commenting on the love of iron that the builders seemed to have, he started kicking the sides of the cabinet. Did I mention that the original owners used this cabinet to store liquor?
The side pieces didn't budge.
At all.
So, out came the skilsaw. He would cut through the subfloor to expose the joists, which these side pieces seemed to be attached to. The rotary tool was intended to cut at the wall, since the subfloor was actually underneath the wall studs themselves.
He burnt out the motor on the rotary tool.
The next thing I know, the chainsaw is running inside my cabin. And soon, I have a 4' square hole in my floor.
And that almost finished my job. Because paint won't cover a 4' hole. So, I get to wait for a bit until he has time to make me a new bit of subfloor, then we'll putty it, then put some proboard over the whole place. No painting.
But, of course, we can't do that until the roof is fixed...
We put a little piece of plywood over the hole in the floor to keep the bugs out, by the way. However, I don't think we'll be able to have visitors yet!
My family is obsessed with Alton Brown.
My children, as babies, found him fascinating. They still "videoit" whenever he is on. My brother, my father, they watch every episode whenever possible. Perhaps my children found him interesting because their grandfather was watching him during their formative years...I'm not sure. But, nonetheless, he is a unique TV personality.
My aunt even followed Alton all around the US on a trip that he wrote about in his book.
Unfortunately,I don't share the total obsession as I live on the farm. My cooking life is not filled with mushroom brushes or pate knives, but is instead filled with copious amounts of seasonal produce that needs to be put down immediately. Alternatively (or concurrently, depending on the season), I need to have multiple meals ready at particular times...although those times may change with the weather.
This is my small ode to Alton. Through his tv show, I finally learned to grill without tears.
I find that Alton is a bit scientific for me. I realize that flour by weight is indeed more accurate than flour by volume, but honestly, I don't care. Half the time my recipes are 50 to 100 years old and require different amounts of flour anyway. I mean, really, when we aren't grinding our own flour, the consistency is different.
And professionally, I can tell you that the gluten profiles in modern wheat varieties are different. Thus, all old recipes must be adjusted accordingly. But that is another blog.
Somewhere ('cause I can't find it online), Alton had an episode which talked about how men are bad barbequers. He didn't mean "bad" as in good...he meant bad as in didn't use separate plates and utensils and therefore transferred bad bacteria. And men didn't use meat thermometers. So he showed them how to grill by the clock...which helped me a lot.
Or maybe the whole episode was in my imagination. It doesn't matter anyway. I can now put a grilled burger/pork chop/chicken piece on the table cooked to the correct temperature on time just about every night.
However, it is 20:30 now, and supper was supposed to be ready for 19:30. And the cats have already tried to eat the whole thing.
Sorry Alton, there is no planning for farmers.
It is spring time despite the frost warnings, so the little baby animals are out and about. This brings a great deal of delight to my little girls' lives.
Trips to take coffee to the tractor, or to soccer practice, or to the lake are punctuated by "look at the adorable little calf", "I think the white one is soooooo cute", "oh, that foal is just so sweet" etc., etc.
I'm trying to keep things real with the girls. It is a survival mechanism to avoid the pony. Ponies are not inevitable, no matter what the neighbours say.
Anyway, while the girls were gushing over the new calves while we drove by Desrochers this evening, I asked them if they realized that the cute little calves turned into big, ugly cows.
From the back seat, my youngest replied "yes, but that's okay because then the big, ugly cows get together and have babies and then there are more cute little calves."
Wonder if I need to have a chat with the Kindergarten teacher...there are a lot of new baby siblings in the K class this year, and it sounds like perhaps the little people have figured it all out. Or maybe it just comes with being a farm kid.
Things are "going" on the farm. I wish they were going faster, but the weather can't be helped.
As I read my brother's blog tonight, I recognize that my lifestyle may not be the most conducive to planning. I have also noticed this when talking with my parents, who are trying to co-ordinate their travel plans around my harvest schedule.
Today, for instance, my in-laws were getting concrete poured in their garage. Dale was just going to shut down the seeder and go help with that. However, I am a pest/nag therefore I asked to be shown how to sow in order to keep the machine moving. We only started sowing yesterday, it is late, it was a kindergarten day - no reason why I couldn't drive the tractor.
Thing is, we knew about this...last night. Makes things difficult to plan. Add the weather, which looked sunny (I took my sunglasses out to the tractor) until it started snowing, ice pelleting and finally raining really hard and my day ended up being full of strange and diverse tasks.
Make coffee; make breakfast for kids; make lunch for kids; do hair for kids; ensure kids have all belongings; get dressed for work; drink coffee; put kids on bus; add parka and insulated overalls to work clothing; go to tractor and sow for a few hours.
Drive tractor back to yard when it starts pouring; drive home (grouchy); make lunch for self; eat lunch.
Surf web; wake poor husband from nap; nag poor husband to go get seed as it has stopped raining and is drying up.
Boil soup bones.
Make cookies.
Get kids off bus; help with homework; feed kids snack; change out of work clothes; apply makeup to cover dirt; get child ready for soccer and go to soccer practice.
Get mail; get groceries; get fuel; get child from soccer.
Make supper; eat supper; continue making stock; water poor little cold plants in the coldframe; close the coldframe; put kids through bath; make coffee.
Take coffee and cookies to tractor; put kids to bed (threaten children); drink 1/2 cup of coffee left in the pot; continue making stock.
Put stock in garage to cool overnight; soak pressure cooker; unload dishwasher; load dishwasher; wash floor.
Answer weather call; wish that the stupid system had stayed in Montana.
And today was a quiet day, and very, very nice as Dale fed himself all day long. Tomorrow - well, I know that Jo has soccer practice and I should probably skim that stock. Other than that, we'll just have to see!
It must be spring. The calendar says it is May, but I think it might almost be getting there in real life. Here are 10 reasons why I think so:
1. wood ticks.
The ticks are out. Charlotte is attracting them like only Charli can. She picked one out of her hair this morning (not her first) - although considering the weather yesterday, it was unexpected. I had hoped that they had all frozen! She has to learn not to take her entire scalp with the tick, although she did get the head, so I guess that was good. I'll catch her with the polysporin after her bath.
2. soccer in the snow
It is soccer season. First game was last night. It snowed. Jo wore her skating tights under her uniform and her beige mini mitts - she was warm and looked somewhat normal for soccer. I, however, froze my little butt. We still haven't stopped Jo from skipping while playing, but she sure was happy!
3. skating in the sun
It is still skating season. We'll be done next week, but it is called "spring school", so that must make it spring. And most of the time (today was an exception), there is no snow. It is nice to go from sneakers to skates, and to only have to pack one set of clothes (again, excepting today, when we had to sit inside the rink, in the cold.)
4. rummage sales and garage sales are on
We had to sit in the cold Foxwarren rink today because the warm waiting room was crowded with bargain hunters. I had already shopped - the stuff has been there for two weeks. I did wonder why there was such a steady stream of traffic headed towards Hamiota, until I realized that it was town-wide garage sale and auction sale day! Oooh, what fun.
5. lawn mowing
I mowed the lawn today. I didn't really plan to, I was just trying to run last year's gas out of the push mower so that Dale could service it. After mowing the whole stinking lawn, I have had my workout, the mower still has gas in it and the thing will have to wait until the grass grows again to get serviced. Blah.
6. wood cutting and child labour
I got the chainsaw out again to get rid of a few suckers on Maple trees and other assorted bush debris. The kids will be paid to move the branches, although they're going to be waiting a while for that new Hannah Montana soundtrack at this rate!
7. campfire and wieners
We've already had the first campfire of the season, using last years branch harvest to cook our stuff. It was a great way to clean up the lawn - the kids burnt all of last years leaves (that they raked up) and we got rid of a few bits of wood too. We're barbecuing wieners too these days. I have to giggle - the cats won't leave meat alone on the plates or the counters - horrible habit, I know. If bread stuffs are left out, they'll eat right through the bag. However, the hotdog that Char couldn't finish is still left out on the table unscathed...
8. Almost buds on the trees - or at least that hairy look
But no sign of any asparagus. And I'm not sure where some of my perennials have gone. I think I moved them. I don't remember. The rhubarb is there, at least. I haven't lost that. I have the kozy koats out with tomatoes in them. I have the cold frame out with plants in it. But, with lows of -3 tonight (and lower for the last few), they are covered with blankets, again.
9. Coffee is made more than once a day
Today was the first day that the coffee machine has started to earn its living (well, other than when Granny was here :-) ) We've invested in stainless steel thermoses (thermi?) to make this season go a bit smoother. It is rather retro - everything looks so nice and sleek right now. I'll give it about a week until the thermi a) get lost somewhere in the tractor and grow mold; b) get run over by the tractor or implement; or c) come back dented and greasy, making me wonder what exactly has gone on in the tractor
10. The "I'll call you when I need a ride" has started
Tonight, it's supposed to be before midnight. The girls will get back into the habit of sleeping in pyjamas that can transfer to the car. This lifestyle is a good thing. We're finally started anhydrousing. This should last a week or so - Dale and his dad will be working from first fill (6:30 - 7 a.m.) until they run the tank out sometime after 11 p.m. every night. I'll get to harrow when the kids are in school. Then we (hopefully) will start seeding.
And maybe, by then, it will really be spring, and not this joke of a season.
