Sunday, February 20, 2011

Flickering Lights and More Winter Weather

It only February, so I know winter isn't done with us yet. Today certainly proved that! We have had all kinds of weather such as rain, sleet, freezing rain, snow with thunder & lightening. As I sit here typing, the lights are flickering. We had two episodes of driving sleet/freezing rain about 5:30 so I'm sure the power lines are coated with ice. I'm all set though. A roaring fire in the wood stove, candles sitting on the kitchen table ready to light along with the farmer's matches. My stomach is full, the afghan I'm crocheting is waiting to be finished and I have a book to read. An interesting book, so far, called Possum Living, How to Live Well Without a Job and With Almost No Money by Dolly Freed. Great concept if you can pull it off :-). I'm just a couple chapters into it. I'll let you know if I learn anything that other books similar to this didn't cover.
This weekend we are dog sitting Brutus. Such a good boy. He is lying in front of the wood stove dreaming away, his paws twitching and small moans escaping from him. We weren't sure how he & Mia would get along, but they tolerate each other fine.
Mia is up in the chair ignoring Brutus.
Mia makes a wide berth around him but he doesn't pay any attention to her anyway. Makes me happy that Mia isn't upset by him. Maybe she'll accept Shep after all. That is, if I ever get him in the house. Shep had a busy day yesterday running back & forth on the driveway while the Amish cut up trees that had fallen from the tornado. They had a couple of teams of horses over there which he tried to herd as they went up the driveway. It makes me so nervous to see him do that since his sight is so bad. He gets right between them. Scary.
The Amish cutting up trees for firewood.
On Friday, our son Shane decided to come up with Steve when his plans for ice fishing fell through. Since we had an appointment with Harry for body work on Saturday, I let him take my appointment. He really enjoyed it. We asked Harry what he calls what he does, if it is considered myofacial, and he said it isn't. He has been doing this for 30 years and has his own technique. Whatever it is called, it works and feels great. After a relaxing afternoon & a hike around the property, we went out to The Driftless Cafe. When we got home, Shane & I played checkers, Rummy & War while listening to the local radio station.
Walking with Brutus...our barn in the distance
Earlier today, Steve & Shane put up some drywall in the workshop area before they left for home. I just heard from Steve and the roads were terrible all the way to Janesville and it is pouring rain back home. So glad they made it alright! Well, the sleet is still coming down, hitting the north and east windows, but the wind appears to have died down a bit. No more flickering lights for about a half hour now so maybe we won't lose power. I filled up 5 gallon jugs just in case. Wouldn't want to run out of water again :-). If this keeps up all me night, the trees should be beautiful in the morning with a thick layer of ice. A good photo opportunity. Well, time to crochet & get into that book before bed. Hope you all have a wonderful week!
Shane & Steve drywalling the workshop.

6 comments:

Kritter Keeper at Farm Tails said...

barb, this is a great post, i felt as though i was right beside you in front of the fire with your beautiful pets. so sorry you are experiencing this awful weather. we got a bit of a break for a couple of weeks. stay safe and yes, please keep us posted on the book! oh, and i do hope shep lives with you soon...very soon!

Lois Evensen said...

What a wonderful day. I especially enjoy seeing Brutus in front of the wood stove. Our Penny spends as much time as she can in front of our fireplace, too. It's the classic picture of home and dog. Very comforting sight.

SkippyMom said...

I thought about you yesterday when I was watching TV with Pooldad. Seems the Mini Cooper has come out with an all wheel drive model and I instantly thought "Barb is going to want one of those." I know you hated to give up the other one [you did sell it, right?]because of the snow - but I thought you could replace it with their new AWD. :)

Sounds like a nice weekend [as long as you don't lose water] and Brutus is a dear.

Nancy said...

There's something so comforting -- the wood stove, candles and a dog laying by the fire -- if the power goes out, no need to worry! Love the photo of Brutus! :)

Barb said...

SkippyMom...we did sell the Mini a couple weeks ago. It was a sad day, but I do love the Subaru. Steve told me about the AWD Mini. I think he is making plans to get another Mini in the future :-)

Along These Lines ... said...

Whoa, that is big and red!

Oh, and Happy Presidents Pets Day -the day after Presidents Day, as I like to call it. In the US, of course we love our presidents..... pets. See my blog if you’re in the mood for a good ol' irreverent howl.