Snowfall

Yesterday, exactly like several days before during this winter, I got ready for a 'winter event'.

I fed and watered the animals extra well. I got up water, in the event of power outage.

I hit the grocery store, again.
While in line at the grocery, (a long, long line I might add), a conversation started up about what we'd all be cooking for the snow event.  When I said that I was going to make a sweet potato pie, the man in front of me, a big, soft, sweet southern boy, there buying himself some toilet paper and beer, turned around and said "That does it, I'm coming home with you! "  Honestly, he looked like the sort of guy that it would be really, really fun to feed sweet potato pie to, though I might have to make several pies to take care of that.

Anyway, when I come out of the grocery store, it was snowing... and not just a flake here or there, it was coming at you sideways.  In the fifteen minutes it took to drive home, the ground was covered.
The dogs were covered.

The crocus were covered... sigh...

The husband did not depart North Carolina in a timely enough manner to make it home in advance of the storm.  He came growling through the door quite late, ill amused at the entire situation.
He was pretty easily assuaged with soup and cornbread.

I'd love to say that I watched the opening of the Olympics, but alas, I fell asleep in my chair... early.
Sometime in the night, I relocated to the bed.
And this morning, quite early, I awoke to that unnatural lightness and to the silence.

What natural beauty!

 

  

  

 

 

 

Ever had a day?

Have you ever had a day where you just scratched your head and wondered?

Perhaps, I'm overthinking in the face of yet another 'winter event'...
       maybe I've had too much 'down time' lately...

but this morning, as I began to put my gears in motion, I've been perplexed.

Let's see...  In the transfer from the washer to the dryer (yes, it was left there overnight), I had 4 socks... 4 socks without mates.  There were several pairs of socks with their mates, but then, there were these four!  Uhm...
I'm embarrassed to say that one of them was mine.
Now, the husband connects his socks together with a safety pin,
which I can count on sticking me at least once while I do laundry.

But the teenager and myself obviously can't manage to keep our socks together.

Let me hasten to add that everyone here does laundry.  I've been a stickler for my kids dong their own laundry... but with only two of us home most days, it's counter-productive to wash a tiny load.

This whole sock thing wouldn't be so troublesome, if I had not gotten some great new socks at Christmas, and the lonely sock was one of those.

So, I backtrack and poke around, trying to find the other hiking sock.  Nope, not in the bathroom... nor in the living room under the chair... nor under the bed.

While looking for the sock, I realize that I need to run the dishwasher.
(Yes, that was left undone at the end of the evening as well!)
I unload the dishwasher, to discover several recycled containers that I use for leftovers... though I had 5 bottoms and 3 lids.... uhm.... huh?

So, I went to look in the porch (where I prep the animal food), as I had cleaned out the fridge and put the leftovers in a bucket for the chickens.
( Chickens LOVE leftovers!  Another story, for another day!)
Yep, there were two of the three errant lids.
On the way back to the kitchen, I found the sock...
Yeah!
I found the sock!
It was on the 'path' between bathroom and laundry area, an obvious case of too large an armload and failure to check the sock count BEFORE washing them.

Sometimes, I do get it all together... sometimes, I do not.

I call this process 'sidetracking'.  On a day that I'm home all day, I sidetrack a LOT.



Some of this is fueled by the fact that 'prep' for 'winter event' here means 'prepare to go without electrical power'  which also means 'there will be no water supply'. See, living in the country means you PREpare.
There will be noone to help you for 4 days if the power goes out.  You will be on your own, left to your own devices to keep warm, cook food and use creative toileting skills that you have learned as outdoorsy sorts.

So, I have to focus... another load of laundry, another load of dishes, run the vacuum, fill some gallon jugs with water, check the pantry for winter staples, possible make a big batch of soup or stew, bake some bread, check the flashlights and the candles and kerosene lamps.  Make certain the stock of animal food is sufficient and get water in place for the animals.

If I get all this done, invariably, I don't need it... but once every two or three years, we do have an event where we're 'down'... and then I'm glad we're ready.
A few years back (and over the combined years) I've learned that life is too short to really angst over the socks.
Or the laundry
or the dishes...

Last night, I made dinner to celebrate with a friend.

And after dinner, the shared conversation was more important than the dishes... or the laundry.

I'll trade a perplexed morning, for a few of hours of friends and family in candlelight.

Dishes can wait.

prompted...

I am so sorry to have taken so long to share...  and prompted by numerous queries, I do so now.

His name is Nick.

 

By no means is his tenure here 100% certain.

But, he is a very different dog than arrived here.

He has learned to eat dog food.... lots and lots and lots of dog food.

He has been squashed into submission by Nana.

His moderate obedience gives me hope that we can work out the 'kinks'.

He does the very two things that I need a dog to do.

He barks when something is up.

He keeps people who do not know him in their car.

On the con side of things:  

Five dogs... thats a LOT of dogs.

His 'maleness' has upset the applecart here in 'female' dogland.

We have to go see what the vet says.

So far, so good...

and the man of the house likes his four white feet!

sigh...

the good, the bad and the very, very ugly

And folks, lets face it, it doesn't get much uglier than this.

I am furiously angry.  Those who know me, know that I should have been in bed an hour ago (it is currently 11:53 pm).  I am so angry that I can not sleep.

Earlier today, I was home alone... blissful, quiet, solitude.  I was getting things done, making progress on some projects that have been needing attention.

Suddenly, the dogs began to bark... and not just bark, but bark wildly.
I go to see what's going on (this is, after all, what I have the dogs for!).

And this is what I see:

Why, WHY would you let your animal starve?

Why would you think it was a good idea to drive him out into the country and pitch him out!?

Why?

Do you think country folks have magical powers?
Do you think that they don't MIND this?

How do you reconcile the misery of this creature, with potential harm to your own precious pets or to the animals on a farm?
How do you know if the animal will be violent, or worse, rabid?
How do you respond?

For the record, folks, the vast majority of animals that are 'dropped off' in the country are dispatched swiftly and certainly.  Farms are not inclined to have an open door policy to animals that almost certainly bring disease and at the least require expensive medical care and rehab.  Most days and for most animals, the end is very certain. 

Alternatives, if available, are animal control services.  If they do not feel like the animal should be destroyed on the spot, then they are taken to crowded shelters, often with a 'kill date'.
Rescue groups are another alternative.
Please, please, please, save your animal the pain and suffering by using one of these alternatives or having the animal put down yourself if you can no longer care for it.

I do not, at this time, know what will happen to this dog.
I know the following things. 
At first, he was aggressive, to my dogs, and to me.
He does not understand or recognize what to do with commercial dog food.  (Yes, I fed him, both commercial dog food and table food, which was all that he understood.)
He is trying frantically to get inside.  (Is he someones HOUSE pet?)
He seems, now, to have reasonable manners.  (Why would you bother to own a pet, teach and train them, then starve them to death?)
He is asleep on my front porch.
Which is more than I can say for myself!

Sometimes, you just want to scream!

Smitten

Sorry if I repeat myself... I'm simply smitten by all the cuteness!

The girls are healthy!

They're doing all the normal baby things.

And they are adored!

 

They're peaceful (most of the time).

They are very capable of letting you know they're here!

 

There was a really awesome 'double barrel baby' moment this afternoon... one babe in each arm, two sweet little faces, one enormous flip flop of this aunt's heart!

sigh... I'm such a 'baby freak!"

Babies!

Some days have better surprises than others!

Here are my new nieces.

Zoe Elizabeth

5 pounds 15 ounces

18 1/2 inches long

and her sister

Kalleigh Anne

5 pounds 15 ounces

19 inches long

Welcome to the world, little girls!

You are loved!

Certifiable...

So, last week was all about taking the National Association of Interpretation's training to become a certified interpretive guide.  Let me hasten to say, since this is invariably the first question, that this is not foreign language interpretation.  This is about relating a resource ( cultural, historical or scientific) to an audience with a focus on creating both an emotional and an intellectual connection.  If it sounds complicated, let me share with you... that is an accurate assessment.  There was an awful lot of reading involved... 6 textbooks and a work book.
There were four days packed FULL of lectures and activities by two pretty amazing individuals, who themselves are excellent interpreters.  And in the end, there was a test and a presentation by each participant, which netted national certification.  I passed!  Yeah!

This workshop occurred at Middleton Place in Charleston, South Carolina.
Now, I had never been to Middleton Place.  And though I've lived in SC all of my life, I've not been on a historical rice plantation... so I was significantly, at times, distracted.

  

Our class took place in a window encased pavilion.  Right in the middle of any segment of instruction, a group of sheep would wander up... or a carriage would ride by... or a costumed interpreter would walk from the stableyards to the main house.

As a person who loves gardening, the grounds of Middleton continuously called to me.  The Middleton's were who brought Japonica Camelias to America... one of the original four plants still lives in the stunning gardens.
While we were at Middleton, there was unseasonably cold temperatures, which damaged the blossoms on the camelias, which were in full bloom.  Deep winter blooms are one of the nicest things about the camelia here in this part of the south.

And I could have simply sat and gazed at the Middleton oaks for a week with no other task to accomplish.

Despite the obvious distractions, and the drive back and forth to Beaufort, which was significantly longer than I had anticipated, the class was a very good thing.  I now better understand a lot of the job that I've been doing for the last year and have better tools in my personal arsenal for both work and a number of other things that I do as well.  My presentation was both terrifying and had it's comical moments.  Who knew that those windowed walls would move, nearly depositing me outside with the sheep, when I least needed a distraction?

On evaluation, I can't imagine a more perfect setting for what I learned this week, and learning interpretation at Middleton will forever be etched in my brain.