Valentine's Day came and went with an icy grip. My monthly obligatory shift at the Broad Street Gallery required travelling over some icy roads with worsening weather in the forecast. Matt gallantly offered to drive me to Hamilton and wait for me there. Smart man, he also saw an opportunity to read the paper for three hours and eat the delicious grape leaves he likes so much at Hamilton Whole Foods. We had a total of three people wander in to the gallery despite restaurants on the block doing a brisk business. The gallery is gorgeous. Can't understand why it doesn't draw in more business. We drove home in an icy, sleety snow and got stuck on an incline at a stop sign. Took a half hour of inching to get through it with a sheriff's deputy blocking traffic - actually there was no traffic but he was trying to be helpful. Our Valentine's dinner consisted of take-out Indian for me and Matt was satisfied with his grape leaves. There are left-over bagels and smoked salmon in the fridge. Think I'll make them for brunch. It's a good day to have something simmering on the stove. It doesn't take much cooking to heat up this little apartment. Took a bit of doing to get the wood stove going with the down drafts coming through the chimney. Without the draft inducer he installed I'd be in big trouble with smoke pouring into the house. The gusts of wind shook the barn around me through the night. I heard bangs and clatters I don't remember ever hearing in the almost ten years I've spent in this barn. The weather is definitely changing, with more colder temps than in years past. The dogs keep me warm. Something sparked a tussle in the night and I woke up with dogs fighting over and around me. Somebody nipped my right forefinger in the confusion and I can hardly bend the knuckle. Such passionate Valentine doggies! I can't remember anyone ever fighting over bed rights with me like that. I have so much I would like to get done today it defies all sanity, and will strive to get some of it done. I am off next week, thank you very much. I love that about the teaching profession. Just when you are at the end of your tether they pay you to stay home for a week. That kind of treatment keeps us coming back for more. I'm on a button crafting roll now, and have used up much of my stash of Femo clay. I do adore Kim's horn buttons but like having the colorful clay buttons on hand, too. I'm making Lemon Eucalyptus and Anise soaps this week. I'm hoping to make a trip to visit Mia in New Jersey for my twins birthday next weekend. Spouse is travelling to Buffalo this week for weatherization trainings, lucky him. On the farm page, the piggies are doing well, drinking their warm slop then burrowing into their pile of hay to keep warm. The new boar, Matt named him Niven, is the biggest and most aggressive at the slop pan. They love living in the barn with the sheep, goats and chickens all around them. I love the way they chase the chickens away from their food. Matt just came in and informed me my big barn door is broken from the ridiculous wind. My fault - I should have climbed up there and put the large cross bar in the inside of the huge doors. My workshop has a covering of snow from it blowing in through the quarter inch hole around the door. Better suit up and get out there to check everything out myself. It's just that it's so cozy in here....in my jammies...with the fire...and the puppies...and the kitties.....but duty calls.
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