Sunny Sunday

After a day and night of pouring rain a lovely sunny Sunday presented itself to us. I woke up with a start at four, then made myself lie down and "counted sheep" to get back to sleep. Such a joy to stay in my jammies and do chores, housework, whatever. It's still warm enough I can wander around without lots of heavy clothing but not for long - a Canadian cold front is coming and snow is expected. Sometimes I forget we are on the same latitude as Eugene, Oregon, with the Great Lakes throwing weather at us all winter long. Matt installed a light on the North Side of the barn that looks uphill and where the White Boys live. One spot is pointed uphill and the other on the wiggly log, soon to be replaced by the little wooden stoop he built for me (and Jackie) to get in and out of the trailer (my idea). It's the little things, you know? Three students came to help stack four cords of wood delivered today by Rosanna, our new science teacher/Brookfield resident, and her husband, Mike, logger and pumpkin farmer. We had a nice visit and I proudly showed off my lovely old barn with the gigantic hay mows. Rosanna was fascinated with the animals everywhere she turned. She owns 80 acres and a nice barn, and doesn't have a single pet! Not one! She had quite a thrill, petting little Monkey who was climbing on hay bales with Lincoln (still with burdock all over him). The boys helped Matt empty the hay out of the big newer mow, as per NY State compliance orders, and get it ready for the foot of old newspaper "green" insulation which we have to purchase - for a thousand dollars or so. No new kittens in the hay we moved, big relief, just some cats who were napping and annoyed at losing their nifty hiding places. After moving a mountain of fleeces (found some nice ones in there!) and stacking the wood the boys helped me capture and worm the rams and bucks in the back pen. Matt did most of the running and chasing, to my annoyance since I hired the big strong students to do this sort of thing, sparing Matt pulled muscles, injuries, whatever. I guess Matt had to teach the young men how it's done, in typical Matt Redmond fashion. I just stood by and watched, then jumped in to do the hoof trimming and shots while the guys held them still. Sometimes silence is golden. I let them go home after the worming episode, happy that I have such good workers nearby in the New Berlin area. I still miss my Randy, but he is much farther away, in Preston, and busy with jobs over there. He visits me in school and we hug like long lost mother and son. Anyway, Matt went to installing the last segment of stove pipe to the chimney and I could barely look. I stayed until I was sure he was not going to take a header then went to get the NY Times in New Berlin. Matt made a lovely fire tonight. Hopefully the extra length will prevent the downdrafts that filled the apartment with black smoke last winter. This big and cheap Tractor Supply stove puts out the heat - a little too much for this apartment. If I ever get the room upstairs built this stove will heat that, too. I have an eye on a little gas stove for my workroom I saw it in Lowes. Dream on! D-Day footage on the History Channel tonight. Oh, how I cringe to see the Gerries shooting the Chaplains and the Medics! Nice guys! Thanks be to Jesus that my AJ is safely sequestered away in St. Vladimir's Monastery in Yonkers! I can't watch too much or I will be glued for the night. And I'm sleepy. Took me an hour to wash a week's worth of dishes. Someday I will spring for a dishwasher. I haven't had one in ten years and have almost gotten used to the mound in the sink - but not quite. When I came home on my birthday moaned to see a mountain of dishes waiting, I thought, wait a minute! I thought if I got my Master's Degree I wouldn't have to wash dishes any more. Jan had left me some bottles of liquor for my birthday. Guess she thought with a pile of dishes like that I could use a drink or two. Back to work tomorrow. Speaking of drinks...I just had some light vanilla ice cream with whiskey poured over it and now I am so drunk I can hardly see straight... what a light weight! Matt is leaving for Buffalo in the morning. OH, joy, what catastrophies can happen in the three days he'll be gone. There's just no telling. No pictures yet - I bought more space but I guess it takes Blogger or Google or whoever a while to get it posted.