I'm bored and this is so random.......

A friend asked me the other day if I could split wood. "Not really," I confessed. But I do try. If only to amuse my husband, as he chuckles at my pitiful efforts.

 

It depends on the pieces of wood; whether or not I can actually split them or not. Either way, it is an excellent workout. Back, shoulders, arms; abs.

I spent Saturday and Sunday afternoons this weekend helping Kevin cut firewood. On Sunday, as I hauled endless pieces of 30-40 lb. chunks of log up a long hill to the truck, heart pounding, lungs aching, back breaking, legs burning - I thought of one of my summer outfits with every trip. New sundress. Bikini my hubby bought me. Skirts. Shorts. Tank tops. This 40 lb. log is helping me look good in those outfits...... yeah. It was the only thing than kept me going. The point is: wood burning stoves = unavoidable fitness routine.

This is me. Look closely and maybe you can tell. This is also my .357 rifle. Kevin said it was MY gun. He has, like 20 guns, so bequeathing one to me was easy. We were going deer hunting - Kevin, myself, my sister Naomi, my brother Eli. (I do not mean to offend you if you are against hunting.....but in my family it is a way of life. We hunt to eat. We prefer 100% organic protein sources. I truly hope I have not offended anyone)

 

It was about 12 degrees that afternoon, and I was wearing about five layers. Scary, huh. And no, we didn't get anything.

I have been wanting, since Christmas, to collect a batch of eggs to incubate for chicks in the Spring. But by the time I get to the eggs, they're frozen almost solid. I don't know if I'm ever going to get any for chicks..... Drat.

 

One of my hens decided she wanted to go for a ride. I took this picture as I was headed off down the driveway. All she did was hunker down like she was going to stay put no matter what! At the end of the drive I had to get out and pick her up to get her off the truck. Silly bird.

 

The cold has been driving me utterly, completely, totally, 100% MAD! I fear for my sanity. This morning I got home from picking up the girl I care for (my 9-5 job) and walked into the house to find my husband working on our afflicted computer that aborted it's audio program and can't find or reinstall it;and the house was smoky from Kevin cleaning out the ashes in the stoves. There is this haze everywhere and I can just see it sticking to my curtains, rugs, furnature, everything. Ik. I was getting irritated already because of the computer. I went upstairs to get some clean clothes so I could take a shower. The shirt I wanted was nowhere to be found. I emptied all my clothing out of my drawers onto the floor in search of one shirt.

Now I was really annoyed. I went into the guest room to see if it might be in there. I walked in and found a smoky haze, (NOT GOOD, as I keep my vintage Etsy items in there) and one of the kid's toy shelves pulled over and a zillion action figures, mini horses, and a billion lacing beads and doll accessories all over the floor. Phileppe. He loves playing with the kid's toys. But did he have to pull over the entire shelf? (Phileppe is my young cat.) Oh and I finally found the dang shirt, under my husband's pile of clothes next to the dryer. Dirty. Great. I threw it in the hamper, vexed.

Now I was mad. I threw open all the upstairs windows, despite the fact that it was 20 degrees out, found a shirt, and stormed to the bathroom to get a shower. (I was NOT mad with my husband, ladies. Not one bit. This was NOT about him, he is wonderful, and was slaving over the computer. This was just me having a personal attitude meltdown.)

The shower made me feel a little better.

Then I spent most of the afternoon beside the fire working on part of my Resolutions and Goals list 2010. (See the sidebar.) I did all the mending and started on a pale green linen table runner my mother in law gave me a year ago when we were in Michigan visiting. It is a open work/needle weaving project; the kind where you remove threads and count threads and weave a open work pattern thingy. I find it excessively boring; and much prefer embroidery to needle weaving. But anyway -


After sitting all afternoon and getting a hand cramp from holding a needle for so long, I was overjoyed when I was finally able to escape and get to the barn...... we took our 2 newest OTTTBs walking along the creek and mucked stalls. Pretty sad, when barn chores are the highlight of your day. I fell in the muck pile, also. Oh well.

I don't usually get this edgy so early in the winter. Being cooped up really grates on me. Maybe it's that I didn't get paid on time this week and had to deal with the payroll people, again. Maybe it's the pressing bills. Maybe it's the fact that I stay bundled in so many layers of clothing that I don't hardly feel like a woman anymore; but a grizzly bear. Or maybe it's because I spend a good amount of time dealing with horse poo. Or maybe it's the fact that I don't see much of anyone besides my hubby and the girl I care for - who has a mental disability so she is not much of a conversationalist - and I just want some "womanly" interaction once in a while. My life is pretty much totally void of "womanly" interaction at the moment - besides Facebook, and when my sisters come over now and then.

Or maybe it's just that time of the month.
But there is hope for me yet! the weather might warm up later this week....!!!