Friday Night, Really?

Take a deep breath, it's here. I came home to find my guys, Andrew and Loren, already doing chores. What a joy. They came last night to help me, and asked if I wanted them today. I had to say yes. They rounded up some escaped sheep, and fortified the piggie pen so the girls could not complete the escape they had in progress. All my bunny cages are scraped out, just in time for the freeze that's coming this weekend. Now the bunners will be a little more comfortable without a frozen poop pack under them. The guys will be helping me build hay feeders as soon as I can get some materials, and will be helping me build fences come spring. Matt will be doing more and more travelling and I am so fortunate to have these strong, willing, farm-experienced local men who have their own transporation. I had a talk with AJ tonight. He's happy to be back at the seminary with his friends. He has to hit the books this weekend. We had a good conversation about the priesthood being a very scholarly group. I reminded AJ about the book "How the Irish Saved Civilization" which was a big hit about 10 years ago. Europe was going to the dogs with plagues and hordes of barbarians everywhere. The monks sat in their monasteries in remote Ireland and wrote everything they could think of down in their illuminated manuscripts, and "saved" civilization. AJ confessed he thought he would be more like one of Jesus' disciples, walking around and spreading the good word. Now has to learn Greek! Mia surprised me with an early Christmas present - a trip to San Jose on Dec. 22 to spend Christmas with Hannah and Luke. What joy. I pray I can get to Newark Airport in NJ, four hours away, without a snowstorm. I'll fly back into Albany, only two hours away. Matt is coming home tonight from his week of teaching across NY state, from Buffalo to Queens. He carried around a Krendle insulating machine, along with the inventor, Kris Krendle. Matt says the workshops went fantastically and he was thrilled. Barack Obama says he wants to weatherize a million homes - let's hope the funding keeps coming for Matt's little green-power non-profit group.