From the outside looking in, the last year and a half has had more downs than ups for us. We seemed to have had one personal tragedy or crisis after another for about three months in a row. We finally got to the point we were afraid to look up to see what might happen next. But looking back on it now, I can more clearly see the blessings scattered throughout the hardest times. Some of the blessings were small ...a smile, a kind word, a bounty from the garden, our first eggs from the hens. Some of the blessings were huge, not necessarily in size but in timing ...saving us at the last minute from yet another major setback. At the time, it felt like a roller coaster ride gone out of control. In retrospect though, all of the blessings were perfectly timed, perfectly spaced for our needs ...not necessarily our wants, but our needs. God does not promise us a smooth ride or no hard times in this life. He just promises to be with us while we go through them.
Now that times are finally getting better for us, our primary focus is to repay the kindnesses that were extended to us. As Yeoldfurt mentioned in his post this morning, we will be using APN's "Pay It Forward Bucks" to accomplish that. Our gratitude toward those who helped us when we were so down is heartfelt and we hope that those we pass the 'bucks' on to will be equally blessed with our gift. I believe though that their greatest blessing will come when their own situation allows them to pay it forward themselves. It truly is better to give than to receive.
Money is easy to repay because it's measurable and tangible. But there were other kindnesses, intangible things that were equally valued and appreciated when we were struggling. Gifts as simple as a few kind words left in a comment, encouraging words in comments or email, bits of knowledge and wisdom that were relevant to our struggles at the time, even long distance tech support in the wee hours of the morning ...you know who you are! All of those things were equally responsible for helping us through the hard times and were so appreciated. Those will be paid forward as well at every opportunity. I hope to repay them with interest because I believe we all need to look for ways to help and encourage each other ...don't wait for a need to be mentioned before you do what you can to help someone. Your efforts won't always be appreciated or acknowledged. Sometimes, your efforts might even be completely misunderstood and unappreciated. But that's not the point, is it? Your blessing is in the giving so it doesn't matter if the recipient has the reaction you expect or desire.
Go scatter some unsolicited blessings of your own today and see if it doesn't bless you many times over in return.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
What I've Been Up To
I've been absent for a few days
but with a very good reason.
I had to rush over to San Antonio last Saturday
for the birth of my new granddaughter,
Isabelle Mckayla.
The drive is a little over two hours from where we live
to my daughter's house, but it took me
three hours on Saturday because I had to find
the hospital and then find a parking space.
I made it in plenty of time though.
My daughter was in early labor when I got there.
Her sweet husband was by her side and his parents
and I were close by in an adjacent waiting area.
The nurses checked my daughter
about 10:30pm and said she still
had a ways to go but they would start
preparations to make her more comfortable.
Five minutes later, us parents were rushed out
of the room and the doctor and nurses took over.
Isabelle McKayla was born
less than ten minutes later.
Great things come in small packages.
She weighed only 5 lbs 1 oz when she was born.
She had came into this world almost before
the delivery team was ready.
There was no time for any of the usual steps
taken for the comfort of the mother.
But my daughter and my little granddaughter
are both fine and that's all that matters.
I was able to spend five wonderful days
with them before coming back home.
A grandma's delight!
Yeoldfurt had only been at his new job
for a few weeks, so he wasn't
able to go with me when Isabelle was born.
But we'll be going back in two weeks
so Isabelle can meet her Grampa.
He is already on the prowl for a pink cricket for her
and she's not even out of preemie clothes yet!
This is my daughter and son-in-law's
first child but you would never know it
by the way they are handling everything.
They are wonderful with the baby
and with each other.
They're a beautiful little family!
I'll have little Isabelle to myself for a whole week
in October when my daughter goes back to work.
Until then, I'll have to make do with photographs
and phone conversations with my daughter.
Now I know we all think our babies
and grandbabies are the cutest!
A friend of mine tactfully pointed out to me that
"Grandmothers are never biased,
and any sane person knows to agree with them
for at least the first week or so."
But agree with me or not, this is the
cutest thing I've seen in a very long time!
Monday, September 6, 2010
My Labor Day
I was off today and Yeoldfurt was not, so I just hung out with the critters. First things first, I had a saddle date with my horse. Possibly more fun for me than for her, though she likes the attention. But for her, it's really all about the treats she knows are coming AFTER the ride.
I've been trying to help it along by pulling the lower branches down, using the thicker ones to whack the ones I can't reach to encourage them to come on down. It's worked but now I can't reach any more. So Mother Nature or Yeoldfurt's chainsaw will have to finish the job.
I did gather a good wheelbarrow load for the burn pile though.
These tall pine trees along the driveway succumbed to the drought too. There are ten of them altogether, probably 60 to 70 feet tall and dead as doornails.
The power company is making it's rounds over the next couple of weeks to trim trees that threaten the powerlines. We are hoping to convince them to at least top these trees. If they fall, they will take out the powerline ...and the fence ...and possibly the garage or a vehicle. *sigh
People always say cats are curious but I'm tellin' you, I can't go anywhere without these little feather butts underfoot.
"Enough with the camera already ...go get my cookies!"
I couldn't play the whole day, so after my ride, I got cleaned up and went into town to look for bargains. I found a few at the dollar store and a few more at Wally World. It was a worthwhile run. The only thing I came home with that was NOT on the prep list was this cute bib for $2 at the dollar store.
My new little granddaughter is due any day. This will be her first Halloween and might be the only Halloween that she's young enough for a bib this small ...so I just couldn't resist. It's a grandma thing!
Realizing that in some circles shopping falls under the category of play rather than work, I decided to do some yard clean up after I got home. We lost several big trees in the drought last year. This one is in the backyard and is slowly shedding it's bark and smaller limbs. I'm hoping when it finally comes down, it at least misses the house.
These tall pine trees along the driveway succumbed to the drought too. There are ten of them altogether, probably 60 to 70 feet tall and dead as doornails.
People always say cats are curious but I'm tellin' you, I can't go anywhere without these little feather butts underfoot.
Left to right, they are Reba, Red and Dora. As you can see, one of them seems a little distracted. That's Dora the Explorer, always looking for the next adventure.
Reba and Red are seldom distracted by adventure.
They are more interested in food, usually each other's.
While I was out, I did a walk around of the house and rescued these poor bulbs. They were laying on top of the dirt, unearthed no doubt by the hens who are always in search of crawly things to eat.
I know from the years we lived here before we had hens, that these bulbs will produce beautiful flowers in the spring. So I rescued them, will keep them safe until late fall and then replant them in such a way they will be safe from the hens.
I tried talking to the hensitter but she says her job description only says to keep the hens safe.
She does that.
She insists that if I also expect her to control them, we need to renegotiate her contract.
After all the chores were done and the animals bedded down, I took this picture of the western sky. This is the view from our patio where Yeoldfurt and I like to spend a few minutes at the end of the day.
What better way to wrap up a great day than to spend a few minutes appreciating a gorgeous sunset? The only thing that would have made this day better would be if Yeoldfurt had been home to enjoy it with me.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Balanced Prepping
The initial obvious challenge to prepping is finding the financial resources to accumulate more than you actually need right now. Definitely a challenge in this depressed economy. The next obvious challenge is working out a storage and rotation system for your stored goods so you don't waste anything. But possibly the biggest challenge is finding a balance in the things that you store. Obviously, we need food to survive. Most of us want/need firearms and ammunition both for hunting and self-defense and quite a few other tools such as mills, dehydrators and hand tools that would allow us to be self-sufficient in a shtf situation. One thing many people recognize but neglect to store, however, is water. Water is essential to all life ...plant or animal. It doesn't take a shtf situation to drive that point home either. A few days of interrupted power and essential services will convince you pretty quickly of the value of good, clean water.
In spite of personal challenges, we have made some serious headway in our food storage. Our personal situation is improving so we will, hopefully, be able to do a lot more in that regard. But now I want to give some serious thought to long-term water storage as well.
We are fortunate to live out in the country and have two stock tanks on our land. The larger one is a catch pond, meaning it is not spring-fed but is situated so that it catches run-off when it rains. Except during prolonged drought situations like last year, it always has some water in it. The smaller pond ...really small ...maybe 30 x 40-foot surface area when it's full ...seems to be spring-fed as it has never gone completely dry. Our neighbor whose family has lived here for generations says his dad had a shallow well for watering his garden just across the fence from that smaller pond. It is possible that the water from that old well is feeding the pond.
We are members of a rural water company here that provides our household water. It's cheap, usually less than $30/month, though it's always smart to have a backup water resource. But it would take a lot to make either of our ponds a safe source of drinking water. The water in those ponds would best be described as green slime-aid. That quality must somehow enhance it's appeal to the horses because, although we keep a 100-gallon trough of clean water available for the horses 24/7, they seem to prefer drinking from the ponds.
I have started researching water storage and find it a little frustrating that the recommended amount per person per year varies so much. Most sites claim that a person needs a minimum of one-half to one gallon of water per day just to stay hydrated. Let's err on the side of abundance and say one gallon per person per day for drinking. More than that will be needed though because some water is required for cooking and cleaning up after we cook and, even in a shtf situation, we will want to take care of at least minimal personal hygiene needs. So, for simplicity sake, I will use a goal of 1000 gallons per person per year ...just under three gallons per person per day. Of course, in a shtf situation, water conservation will be taken to a whole new standard. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say an 'old standard' ...as the water conservation practices of a few centuries ago would put even the most frugal among us to shame.
The old saying 'don't throw out the baby with the bath water' has historical roots. Centuries before indoor plumbing was the norm, the concept of bathing on a regular basis was slightly different than it is today. Most of us think nothing of bathing daily and even more than once in a day if the need arises. But in the olden days, baths were a luxury reserved for warmer weather and special occasions. It is why weddings in June were so popular, because it was almost always warm enough by June for everyone to have a bath! But even aside from less frequent bathing, bathwater was shared. It had to be hauled from it's source ...river, well, pond, whatever the source was ...and in large enough quantities to fill a small tub. Once indoors, it had to be heated and since it would cool down quickly, being the first one in the tub was a privilege usually reserved for the man of the house. I think generally the mother followed her husband in the bath line and then the children with the oldest going first. When the last member of the family had bathed, the baby being the youngest ...the tub of water had to be hauled outside and dumped. By the time several had bathed in succession, the water was presumably a bit murky with soap and whatever had been washed off the previous bathers ...hence the saying 'don't throw out the baby with the bath water!' All of this to make a point that if we are in a situation that requires us to live off of our stores, we would be wise to ration them very carefully.
The way I look at it, water supply is a three-sided problem. We need a source, preferably several sources and a way to safely store what we have and a yardstick with which to determine proper rationing. The sources will vary for everyone, depending on their geographical and societal location. But nearly everyone in this country these days has access to municipal water or a private well. So start thinking about ways to store up for tomorrow what you have such ready access to today. Depending on climate, all of us have access to a significant amount of rainwater as well. Start looking at rainwater collection and purification methods. They don't have to be fancy or be a high dollar investment to be functional. Think outside of the box. As far as guidelines for how much to store and how much to allot per person in a shtf situation, I think the Mormons are ahead of us. They are generally very willing to share what they know, even offering workshops and seminars in some areas on this and similar subjects. Sure, they would be happy to share their beliefs and convictions with you too. But, in my experience, they don't push anything except the information you came to them to learn. So look around your area and learn what you can from them.
Back to my current premise that 1000 gallons per year per person is a reasonable assumption, how many month's supply is a reasonable amount to store? Most of the websites I've researched so far recommend a three to six month supply. How much you decide to store will depend on several factors, one of the most important of which is the probability of your being able to replenish what you use in a shtf situation. If you live in a remote area of the desert, you might want/need to store more than if you live in a rural area with access to lakes, ponds or streams. Evaluate your situation and plan accordingly.
For us, I think a three month supply ...approximately 500 gallons is both feasible and reasonable. We are blessed to have a secure cool storage area in the form of a concrete slab, well-insulated, air-conditioned shed. This is the same shed we are revamping for our food storage. It just makes practical sense to store the water in the same area. Another recent development in our favor is that Yeoldfurt's new employer is a commercial bakery that literally discards 55-gallon drums on a regular basis. These drums are food-grade plastic with two-inch fill drains in one end and they are free for the asking to the employees. What a perk! To store 500 gallons, we would need ten drums. The plan at this point is to set the drums on their sides on a low workbench in the shop. Setting them up on the bench makes them easier to access to draw from or fill. I have an idea for 'plumbing' them together in sequence too so that we would fill from the drum on one end and draw from the drum at the other end. Not having measured anything yet, I'm estimating the bench will hold at least six drums and we would have four additional drums stacked upright along the wall for additional storage. These ten drums, for as long as we could keep them full, would be our sole source for drinking and cooking water and a supplemental source for wash water.
Rainwater will hopefully supply our pets and gardening needs and, hopefully, our washing needs as well. This area has been in some stage of drought for the past five years at least, last year being the worst of the five. But in a 'normal' rainfall year, a good collection system should be sufficient to take care of the vegetable garden and the pets. We have one dog which, especially in a shtf situation, will be pretty important to our preps and security so we need to plan for her needs. There are two outside cats that do a decent job of keeping the small vermin in check so we will keep them watered if we can too. Rainwater should be sufficient for all that. If we are able to accumulate and store enough rainwater, it will be our primary source for wash water ...selves and laundry. The horses though are a whole 'nother problem.
Our six horses are confined to a small paddock about 12 hours out of the day with free access to hay and water. In the winter, they only drink about 25 gallons from the trough in a 12-hour period. In the hotter months, they drink 50-75 gallons in the same time period. In a shtf situation, we may have to amend our routine so they are confined to the paddock with the small pond overnight ...all the green slime-aid they can drink but filling a 100-gallon trough on a daily basis would be a practical impossibility and downright foolhardy if we were filling it from our stores.
What's your water situation?
Monday, August 30, 2010
Ever Tweaking
Before Yeoldfurt left for work Sunday morning, we had to make a batch of laundry soap. This is the third batch we've made since February, so each batch is lasting a good three months. We're very happy with the performance and cost savings but we are ever tweaking the process to make it even easier and more efficient.
Yeoldfurt grates the Zote soap for me which is really where most of the time and effort is expended. It only takes me five minutes to measure the powders and set the pan of water up on the stove and then I spend the next ten minutes watching him finish up with the grating. A friend of mine is interested in trying the recipe since she has four teenage boys at home and spends a fortune in store-bought laundry products. I'm supposed to drop off a copy of the recipe to her next week. As I was watching Yeoldfurt grate, I was thinking about my friend and decided I would pre-measure the powders into a quart canning jar and then put the proper amount of grated Zote soap in a baggie on top of the powder. I would give her the recipe AND the ingredients for her first batch, all in a convenient pre-measured, pre-grated kit. To make things even easier for my friend, I also took a picture of the ingredients and the tools we use to mix everything up. I'll give her the picture and the recipe and include my phone number in case she has any last minute questions when she makes her first batch.
The picture shows the only three ingredients (Zote soap, Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, and 20 Mule Team Borax powder), stacked on top of my deep kettle. Also in the picture is the plastic cat litter jug that we re-purposed for our soap making. The original recipe called for melting the grated Zote in 6 cups of water in a saucepan on the stove. Then a half cup each of the two powders are added to the melted Zote, and all that was combined with another 4 cups of hot water in a bucket. I don't have a saucepan large enough to take 10 cups of water plus the Zote and powders, so I use the deep kettle. We use the big plastic jug instead of a bucket. We pre-fill the jug with the 1 gallon plus 6 cups of warm water called for as the last ingredient in the recipe. By pre-filling with hot rather than cold water, the soap mixes more readily and stays mixed while we transfer it to the laundry soap jugs.
When we pour the soap mixture from the kettle into the jug, we use a canning jar funnel to avoid spills. We set the jug with the pre-measured warm water in the sink and slip the canning jar funnel into the mouth of the jug. It fits perfectly and we avoid losing product down the sink. As the concoction cools, the soap may clump, but is easily re-homogenized by shaking the jug before you measure out the soap.
Yeoldfurt thought all that was a great idea for my friend but also suggested we could make up a couple of jars for ourselves too. Stay ahead a little bit. Since each bar of Zote makes three recipes, it makes sense to me to make up three jars at a time. By having everything pre-meaured and pre-grated, we will be able to whip up a batch in fifteen minutes if we needed too.
As you can see, the pre-measured powder and pre-grated Zote fit easily into a wide-mouth quart canning jar and will be a convenient way to keep a couple of batches stored ahead. I do not re-use my canning lids for processing food, but mark them with an 'S' for storage and use them for things like this where I want a lid on the jar but it doesn't matter need to be an airtight seal. I think these 'soap kits' might even make a nice gift. You could use a circle of pretty fabric under the ring to close up the jar. Tuck the pre-printed recipe inside the jar. Tie a ribbon or raffia around the ring and it wouldn't even need gift wrap.
Ahh, I love a good tweak!
Yeoldfurt grates the Zote soap for me which is really where most of the time and effort is expended. It only takes me five minutes to measure the powders and set the pan of water up on the stove and then I spend the next ten minutes watching him finish up with the grating. A friend of mine is interested in trying the recipe since she has four teenage boys at home and spends a fortune in store-bought laundry products. I'm supposed to drop off a copy of the recipe to her next week. As I was watching Yeoldfurt grate, I was thinking about my friend and decided I would pre-measure the powders into a quart canning jar and then put the proper amount of grated Zote soap in a baggie on top of the powder. I would give her the recipe AND the ingredients for her first batch, all in a convenient pre-measured, pre-grated kit. To make things even easier for my friend, I also took a picture of the ingredients and the tools we use to mix everything up. I'll give her the picture and the recipe and include my phone number in case she has any last minute questions when she makes her first batch.
The picture shows the only three ingredients (Zote soap, Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, and 20 Mule Team Borax powder), stacked on top of my deep kettle. Also in the picture is the plastic cat litter jug that we re-purposed for our soap making. The original recipe called for melting the grated Zote in 6 cups of water in a saucepan on the stove. Then a half cup each of the two powders are added to the melted Zote, and all that was combined with another 4 cups of hot water in a bucket. I don't have a saucepan large enough to take 10 cups of water plus the Zote and powders, so I use the deep kettle. We use the big plastic jug instead of a bucket. We pre-fill the jug with the 1 gallon plus 6 cups of warm water called for as the last ingredient in the recipe. By pre-filling with hot rather than cold water, the soap mixes more readily and stays mixed while we transfer it to the laundry soap jugs.
When we pour the soap mixture from the kettle into the jug, we use a canning jar funnel to avoid spills. We set the jug with the pre-measured warm water in the sink and slip the canning jar funnel into the mouth of the jug. It fits perfectly and we avoid losing product down the sink. As the concoction cools, the soap may clump, but is easily re-homogenized by shaking the jug before you measure out the soap.
Yeoldfurt thought all that was a great idea for my friend but also suggested we could make up a couple of jars for ourselves too. Stay ahead a little bit. Since each bar of Zote makes three recipes, it makes sense to me to make up three jars at a time. By having everything pre-meaured and pre-grated, we will be able to whip up a batch in fifteen minutes if we needed too.
As you can see, the pre-measured powder and pre-grated Zote fit easily into a wide-mouth quart canning jar and will be a convenient way to keep a couple of batches stored ahead. I do not re-use my canning lids for processing food, but mark them with an 'S' for storage and use them for things like this where I want a lid on the jar but it doesn't matter need to be an airtight seal. I think these 'soap kits' might even make a nice gift. You could use a circle of pretty fabric under the ring to close up the jar. Tuck the pre-printed recipe inside the jar. Tie a ribbon or raffia around the ring and it wouldn't even need gift wrap.
Ahh, I love a good tweak!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Working Weekend
It's been a busy week, but a good week. I'm not used to not having Yeoldfurt around in the evenings, so I've tried to keep busy. I've done some reorganizing and caught up on some plain old housework.
His first week on the new job has been good. He's tired when he comes home, but it's a happy tired. That makes me happy. As long as he's on the evening shift, he'll work weekends with Wednesdays and Thursdays off. I'm off on Saturday and Sunday but as long as he's working, I figure I might as well be too.
On Saturday, I caught up on some yardwork. There is a huge oak tree beside our driveway that died in the drought last year. It is technically on our neighbor's property but it's huge and hangs about 30 feet over our fence line and across the driveway. It's been shedding branches for the past several months, some big enough to completely block the driveway. The neighbor that owns the property is elderly and lives out of state so calling them to take care of the problem is not really an option. We just clean up when we need to and salvage the bigger pieces for firewood. Oak is good firewood and this is already dried. It's a good trade off.
Further down the driveway, we had a couple of pine saplings succumb to the drought last year too. Those needed to come out and go on the burn pile. Pine is too sappy to use in a fireplace. It took me about three hours to get it all done yesterday. I took my little truck up the driveway and started sorting through the downed limbs. What was thick enough for at least kindling got tossed in a pile across the driveway and what was too small or too thin to be useful got tossed into the truck to go to the burn pile. The pine saplings had been dead for a year, so they just snapped off at the ground for me. They were planted amidst yuopons by the previous owner here, so I'm not worried about leaving the stumps in the ground. The yuopons will keep me from accidentally mowing over the stump and it will rot on it's only over time.
Our driveway is about 150 feet long. The dead pine trees were clear up by the road and the dead oak tree is about 100 feet from the road, so I had to move the truck a couple of times to get to all the downed limbs. Once all of the scrap was in the truck, I drove down and put it all in the burn pile. That took longer and was harder than getting it in the truck to begin with. It was all tangled up in the back of the truck and it wanted to come out as one big bundle. That would be fine if I was strong enough to drag that much wood out all at once, but I'm not. So I had to wrestle with it a little but I finally got it done.
On my way back up, I stopped at the garage and got the tow chain. It's a 50-foot heavy tow chain and I love it. Tow chains are right up there with duct tape and baling wire as far as this country girl is concerned. I have used it to drag panels when I move the round pen, pull a vehicle (or a lawnmower) out of a bog, and drag whole trees to the big burn pile. I even used it to drag a round bale of hay the last 50 feet to its destination one time. The round bale wasn't quite 'round' anymore when I got there, but I got her done. I needed the tow chain yesterday because one of the limbs the oak dropped was about 18 feet long and at least 8-10 inches thick. I had wrestled it to the middle of the driveway but it still needed to be moved another 50 feet down the driveway to where Yeoldfurt could cut it up with the chainsaw. Even as dead wood, it was too heavy for me to drag that far. I could have done it if I had to, but I would have probably hurt myself in the process. I'm all for doing things the easy way if it's an option.
I backed the truck up the driveway until I was about 10 feet from the limb. I hooked the tow chain to the truck and made a double loop over the near end of the limb with the chain. Nothing like setting off to drag something and finding out you lost the load and are only towing the tow chain by itself. So I was careful to loop the second part of the double loop on top of the first part, so it would tighten first and clamp down on the first loop. When the chain was set up, I sorted through the pile of wood I wanted to save for firewood and stacked it in the bed according to size. I kept pieces even if they were only a few inches long. As long as they are at least two inches thick, they will be good in the firebox. When all the wood was on the truck, I drove on down the driveway to the garage and unloaded it all. We don't use much firewood in the winter because we don't have a long or very harsh winter season here, but it's nice to have the option of cranking up the fireplace. We have a heater insert in the fireplace and it does a good job.
After all the outside chores were done yesterday, I cooked up some red beans & rice and a batch of cornbread for Yeoldfurt's supper on Sunday. As long as he's on this evening shift, I have to stay a day ahead of him on cooking because I leave for work first during the week and I don't have time to cook a meal before I leave. But when all that was done and all the critters were fed and put up for the night, it was 'me' time. I took a shower, dropped into chat for an hour or so, and then sat down to read a few chapters in Starving the Monkeys while I waited for Yeoldfurt to get home. It was a good day.
His first week on the new job has been good. He's tired when he comes home, but it's a happy tired. That makes me happy. As long as he's on the evening shift, he'll work weekends with Wednesdays and Thursdays off. I'm off on Saturday and Sunday but as long as he's working, I figure I might as well be too.
On Saturday, I caught up on some yardwork. There is a huge oak tree beside our driveway that died in the drought last year. It is technically on our neighbor's property but it's huge and hangs about 30 feet over our fence line and across the driveway. It's been shedding branches for the past several months, some big enough to completely block the driveway. The neighbor that owns the property is elderly and lives out of state so calling them to take care of the problem is not really an option. We just clean up when we need to and salvage the bigger pieces for firewood. Oak is good firewood and this is already dried. It's a good trade off.
Further down the driveway, we had a couple of pine saplings succumb to the drought last year too. Those needed to come out and go on the burn pile. Pine is too sappy to use in a fireplace. It took me about three hours to get it all done yesterday. I took my little truck up the driveway and started sorting through the downed limbs. What was thick enough for at least kindling got tossed in a pile across the driveway and what was too small or too thin to be useful got tossed into the truck to go to the burn pile. The pine saplings had been dead for a year, so they just snapped off at the ground for me. They were planted amidst yuopons by the previous owner here, so I'm not worried about leaving the stumps in the ground. The yuopons will keep me from accidentally mowing over the stump and it will rot on it's only over time.
Our driveway is about 150 feet long. The dead pine trees were clear up by the road and the dead oak tree is about 100 feet from the road, so I had to move the truck a couple of times to get to all the downed limbs. Once all of the scrap was in the truck, I drove down and put it all in the burn pile. That took longer and was harder than getting it in the truck to begin with. It was all tangled up in the back of the truck and it wanted to come out as one big bundle. That would be fine if I was strong enough to drag that much wood out all at once, but I'm not. So I had to wrestle with it a little but I finally got it done.
On my way back up, I stopped at the garage and got the tow chain. It's a 50-foot heavy tow chain and I love it. Tow chains are right up there with duct tape and baling wire as far as this country girl is concerned. I have used it to drag panels when I move the round pen, pull a vehicle (or a lawnmower) out of a bog, and drag whole trees to the big burn pile. I even used it to drag a round bale of hay the last 50 feet to its destination one time. The round bale wasn't quite 'round' anymore when I got there, but I got her done. I needed the tow chain yesterday because one of the limbs the oak dropped was about 18 feet long and at least 8-10 inches thick. I had wrestled it to the middle of the driveway but it still needed to be moved another 50 feet down the driveway to where Yeoldfurt could cut it up with the chainsaw. Even as dead wood, it was too heavy for me to drag that far. I could have done it if I had to, but I would have probably hurt myself in the process. I'm all for doing things the easy way if it's an option.
I backed the truck up the driveway until I was about 10 feet from the limb. I hooked the tow chain to the truck and made a double loop over the near end of the limb with the chain. Nothing like setting off to drag something and finding out you lost the load and are only towing the tow chain by itself. So I was careful to loop the second part of the double loop on top of the first part, so it would tighten first and clamp down on the first loop. When the chain was set up, I sorted through the pile of wood I wanted to save for firewood and stacked it in the bed according to size. I kept pieces even if they were only a few inches long. As long as they are at least two inches thick, they will be good in the firebox. When all the wood was on the truck, I drove on down the driveway to the garage and unloaded it all. We don't use much firewood in the winter because we don't have a long or very harsh winter season here, but it's nice to have the option of cranking up the fireplace. We have a heater insert in the fireplace and it does a good job.
After all the outside chores were done yesterday, I cooked up some red beans & rice and a batch of cornbread for Yeoldfurt's supper on Sunday. As long as he's on this evening shift, I have to stay a day ahead of him on cooking because I leave for work first during the week and I don't have time to cook a meal before I leave. But when all that was done and all the critters were fed and put up for the night, it was 'me' time. I took a shower, dropped into chat for an hour or so, and then sat down to read a few chapters in Starving the Monkeys while I waited for Yeoldfurt to get home. It was a good day.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
The Dreaded Seven Year Itch
Well, I thought I was immune. But is anyone really?? Yeoldfurt and I have been married for almost eleven years and together for almost twelve. You would think things like this just wouldn't come up. I've sure got it though, and I've got it bad. But don't worry, the first step is recognizing the problem and I'm definitely cognizant of it now. I'm doing something about it too ...starting right now.
Now before you all get your knickers in a knot, let me explain. The 'seven year itch' did not always mean what it commonly means today. The phrase was originally coined over a century ago in England in reference to a skin condition called scabies. Mites. That's right, I have itty bitty BUGS under my skin!! Ewww ....!
The term 'seven year itch' came about because physicians at the time didn't know what caused it but knew that it tended to last for up to seven years. Having lived with it now for just about ten days, I'm SO sympathetic to those poor people who had it back then!!
I've only had head lice once in my life, thanks to my sweet little niece who was a preschooler herself at the time. Daycares are wonderful, aren't they? The things those kids bring home!! I took care of my niece's little head, never suspecting I was picking up her problem. My hair is long and thick and I think those little lice just thought they'd died and gone to heaven!! When I realized I had lice and bought the stuff to take care of it for myself, I had to buy two kits ...yup, that much hair. But oh it was worth it. Itch does not begin to describe the sensation when those little critters start moving around. I would have bought ten kits if that was what it took to be rid of them!
I had some insect bites on my ankles about a month ago that just about drove me crazy before they healed. Well, maybe that was mostly my fault because I could not refrain from scratching them when they itched. When they started looking like they were infected, Yeoldfurt made me soak them in Epsom salts and put antibiotic cream and band aids on them. A couple of treatments and they healed right up. But about two weeks ago, I noticed my back was itchy. And the backs of my arms. It has slowly gotten worse to the point I itch just about everywhere except my face. I went to the clinic today and the doc took one look at me and said Scabies. Yikes!! He said they are present everywhere outdoors but need an open wound or prolonged skin to skin contact to gain a foothold. I think they gained more than a foothold with me! He said they probably started with those insect bites on my ankles several weeks ago. I picked up some mites when the wounds were open and uncovered, then scratched because the mites made them itch ...then scratched somewhere else ...sigh.
There's a social stigma attached to things like head lice and scabies. I know I'm not thrilled to announce that's what I'm dealing with. But I think the stigma makes the problem worse so I'm going to 'fess up and share what I've learned. I would have gone to the clinic and gotten treatment a week ago if I even suspected mites. Shoot, we've been having 105 degree temperatures ...I just figured heat rash. I chastised myself for being a pansy and determined to just suck it up and deal with it until the weather cooled off. Wrong...
The good news is, it's very treatable ...just like head lice. Step one, recognize the problem. Step two, be meticulous in following the directions for treatment. Relief is the reward and it's almost immediate. The doc gave me a prescription cream and told me to shower, then cream myself from the chin down and leave it on for eight hours ...then shower it off. He said that would take care of the critters with one treatment. He also gave me a seven day pack of Prednisone for the itch ...oh thank you, thank you! I can't start that regimen until tomorrow, but even just the shower and cream has helped.
Supposedly, these little varmints can't live more than an hour or so on bedding or clothing ...but as an extra precaution, I picked up a new set of sheets this afternoon and remade the bed. I've washed the old sheets and all the rugs and towels in hot water with a long soak and lots of bleach too. While the washer and dryer were working overtime, I was vacuuming all the rooms. I just vacuumed on Tuesday, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Doctors can tell me all day long that the critters are gone and all that is not necessary ...but I couldn't have closed my eyes tonight if I hadn't done all that. It's a Venus thing.
Now before you all get your knickers in a knot, let me explain. The 'seven year itch' did not always mean what it commonly means today. The phrase was originally coined over a century ago in England in reference to a skin condition called scabies. Mites. That's right, I have itty bitty BUGS under my skin!! Ewww ....!
The term 'seven year itch' came about because physicians at the time didn't know what caused it but knew that it tended to last for up to seven years. Having lived with it now for just about ten days, I'm SO sympathetic to those poor people who had it back then!!
I've only had head lice once in my life, thanks to my sweet little niece who was a preschooler herself at the time. Daycares are wonderful, aren't they? The things those kids bring home!! I took care of my niece's little head, never suspecting I was picking up her problem. My hair is long and thick and I think those little lice just thought they'd died and gone to heaven!! When I realized I had lice and bought the stuff to take care of it for myself, I had to buy two kits ...yup, that much hair. But oh it was worth it. Itch does not begin to describe the sensation when those little critters start moving around. I would have bought ten kits if that was what it took to be rid of them!
I had some insect bites on my ankles about a month ago that just about drove me crazy before they healed. Well, maybe that was mostly my fault because I could not refrain from scratching them when they itched. When they started looking like they were infected, Yeoldfurt made me soak them in Epsom salts and put antibiotic cream and band aids on them. A couple of treatments and they healed right up. But about two weeks ago, I noticed my back was itchy. And the backs of my arms. It has slowly gotten worse to the point I itch just about everywhere except my face. I went to the clinic today and the doc took one look at me and said Scabies. Yikes!! He said they are present everywhere outdoors but need an open wound or prolonged skin to skin contact to gain a foothold. I think they gained more than a foothold with me! He said they probably started with those insect bites on my ankles several weeks ago. I picked up some mites when the wounds were open and uncovered, then scratched because the mites made them itch ...then scratched somewhere else ...sigh.
There's a social stigma attached to things like head lice and scabies. I know I'm not thrilled to announce that's what I'm dealing with. But I think the stigma makes the problem worse so I'm going to 'fess up and share what I've learned. I would have gone to the clinic and gotten treatment a week ago if I even suspected mites. Shoot, we've been having 105 degree temperatures ...I just figured heat rash. I chastised myself for being a pansy and determined to just suck it up and deal with it until the weather cooled off. Wrong...
The good news is, it's very treatable ...just like head lice. Step one, recognize the problem. Step two, be meticulous in following the directions for treatment. Relief is the reward and it's almost immediate. The doc gave me a prescription cream and told me to shower, then cream myself from the chin down and leave it on for eight hours ...then shower it off. He said that would take care of the critters with one treatment. He also gave me a seven day pack of Prednisone for the itch ...oh thank you, thank you! I can't start that regimen until tomorrow, but even just the shower and cream has helped.
Supposedly, these little varmints can't live more than an hour or so on bedding or clothing ...but as an extra precaution, I picked up a new set of sheets this afternoon and remade the bed. I've washed the old sheets and all the rugs and towels in hot water with a long soak and lots of bleach too. While the washer and dryer were working overtime, I was vacuuming all the rooms. I just vacuumed on Tuesday, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Doctors can tell me all day long that the critters are gone and all that is not necessary ...but I couldn't have closed my eyes tonight if I hadn't done all that. It's a Venus thing.
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