blame it on the man in the moon

Monday was a super duper day. Perfect timing all-around, every little thing falling into place. Tuesday - crap. Shouldn't even have gotten out of bed. Wednesday - back on track. Looking good. Thursday - crapola. Today - egh. Can't get around to doing much more than playing Sudoku on the computer and eating peanut butter with a spoon. And I'm not the only one having this kind of a time. Everyone around me is, too. Then I started to wonder. How much is just plain old fate and how much is being influenced by the moon?It's a very special one right now. Not only is it full today, but it is also the closest to Earth it's been in 15 years and or will be again for 8 more years. Being this close and full at the same time, there's gotta be some unusual forces at work.

So, ya, I've hardly moved from in front of the computer all day, but have I caught up on email or updated my blog? No. Well, I'm updating my blog only because I promised that I would. It's been extremely hard to get motivated lately (more than just today or this week). Seems to be for ages now. Mind you, today is cold, snowy and blowy (gale-force winds, to be exact ... expecting the power to go out at any time), so being inside is a really good idea. The chickens need water, though, so I'll have to bundle up and get out there before dark.

Speaking of the chickens. One of our hens died yesterday. Yes, I know she's just a chicken and yes, I know that happens sometimes for no apparant reason, but it still makes me cry. Maybe I'll blame that on the moon, too.

We did go to Prince George recently to get this snow plow for the skid steer.Check out Art's blog to see it in action.

I took advantage of being in the "big city" and stocked up on a couple of things that we can't get here.The cookies are Art's, the tea is mine. Substitutes of either will just not do. We found some fake Danish butter cookies in Fraser Lake, but upon reading the label they are made in China. Put 'em back on the shelf. We'll pass on the melamine, thanks.

construction zone

Amidst all the chaos of the chimney/fireplace rebuild, I am working to get my knitting and crochet projects completed. This is another knit intarsia (before all the ends are woven in)...... and yet more intarsia, but this one is crocheted.While knit looks better, crochet is much easier (and faster). That's my experience anyhow.

So, the middle of our house is "in transition" right now. Our wood burning furnace is in the basement and it's chimney runs up through the centre of the house.On the main floor, it shares an enclosure with the fireplace which acts as a divider between the living room and the kitchen. Unfortunately, the original installation was hoojie-balled so we are forced to "take it down". If you've been following Art's blog, you've seen pictures, but here are just a few more.He is having too much fun, I think.It's becoming a nice wide open space. I kinda like it.Can hardly wait for that horribly ugly fireplace to be gone. It will be replaced by this wood stove that we were given last summer.Of course, with all the noise, there's not a cat to be found. Xena doesn't like the racket either, so she's happy when it's time to lounge in front of the TV after a hard day's work.On another subject, we received some beef from our neighbour. They grazed their cattle on our land for part of the summer and gave us a bunch of meat as a "thank you". These are different cows from the Red Angus and Hereford that the other neighbour pastured here before. These are called Belgian Blues. They are kinda funny looking with big bulging muscles. One website I looked at called them Schwarzenegger cows, because they look like they've been pumping iron. You might think they've been genetically altered or are enhanced with hormones or steroids, but they're not. They are just weird..... naturally. Anyhow, I never paid much attention except to notice that the calves are really super cute coz they're so round and plump looking.

Turns out this beef is super lean and has nutritional qualities far and above regular beef. Even above chicken.We had a roast of it last night and O.M.G !!!! Purely divine! With not even a sliver of fat on or in it I expected it to be dry as toast, but it was the opposite. Moist, juicy and delish. Now, I love beef and I love the fat on beef, so I will need to do more sampling before I'm a total convert, but so far I'm impressed. This has got to be good news for health-minded individuals. Or is it unobtainable? Or maybe just undiscovered?

So...Kevin...this is waiting in our freezer for when you come to visit again. We asked the butcher to leave any fat on it that he could find.We were supposed to go to Prince George today to take our snow plow back (don't get Art started on that one ..... why can't people just do the jobs we pay them to? .... the first time?), but it snowed about a foot overnight and was still coming down all morning. Then it turned to freezing rain. A good day to stay off the roads and maybe just tear down some more of the kitchen wall.

On Wednesday we went to Burns Lake. This fellow looked so sad, I just had to stop and get a picture.Maybe it was the sudden cold, or maybe he is just depressed....kinda like the sad picture on Art's blog today.

melt...freeze...melt...freeze

On Tuesday it was plus 7. Yesterday and today, this.....We go nowhere without our crampons on. Ice everywhere.

winter has arrived

Before the snow came to stay we had some foggy days. We had several snowfalls, but it would then warm and melt. This one's for real, I'm pretty sure.I've been talking about Ewie a lot and here he is, up to more shenanigans. I don't know where he thinks he's going.Xena does her part to make kindling for the fireplace.She's so helpful.All that excitement calls for a little nap ...... and a snack.I think I'm getting the hang of this knitting intarsia. It's fiddly work. What I'm making is a surprise, so I will only show you this little bit for now. This is what the intarsia looks like from the back-side.Do you know what's harder to photograph than a black cat? ... or a white cat? ... or black and white cats together? Stitchwork. I tried every setting on my camera and every kind of lighting. It's really hard to do! After about 50 shots I finally gave up and chose this as the best I could get. I have a whole new respect for those photographers that shoot "product".

I didn't know a potatoe could catch on fire

Our microwave, for the fancy schmancy gizmo that it is, is starting to scare me. I think it's way too glitzy for it's own good. It's a great big thing that doubles as a range hood (a feature I never use) and it's supposed to be very smart. You tell it what you're cooking and it figures everything out for you .... how long .... what intensity .... when to flip. It's already been to the shop once because it lost it's marbles, and now it's doing crazy things.It's a good thing I was standing right there when this potatoe burst aflame, along with the paper towel it was sitting on. You see, when I told it to "cook a potatoe" I trusted it to do that. Perhaps it thought I meant 20 pounds of potatoes .... I don't know. Anyhow, there was a "woof", then a box full of flames. I was proud of how calm I remained, so the rest of the house didn't explode, but what a mess .... and stink. It still smells like there was an army of chain smokers in my kitchen.

Ewie is a Hooligan

now here's a word for ya....

I am learning a knitting technique called Intarsia. Wikipedia says this about that ..... "Intarsia patterns are almost always given as charts (which, because of the mechanics of knitting, are read beginning at the lower right and continuing upward boustrophedonically)" ....... uh ..... what ????

I'm trudging along. Not sure if I like it or not. I'll let you know. I love intarsia woodwork. Would like to learn that someday. Art's sister Echo gave me this and I think it's just gorgeous. To each their own, right?So, back to knitting. I have to keep re-learning my lesson about NOT leaving my knitting out overnight, where some kitty (who shall remain nameless, but his initials are ..... Ewie Blomquist !) can take each ball of yarn and run to a different corner of the house with it. Two mornings in a row I found this.The yarn is spread through several rooms, so I couldn't get the full effect in one photo. It took several hours to untangle this mess ..... twice.Maybe you think I'm exaggerating. How could this innocent looking face cause so much trouble?I had a dream the other night where I was talking to someone about stray cats and the other person said "I'll take Screwie home with me", as he pointed to my little white guy. I protested that his name was "Ewie" not "Screwie" and he was mine. When I told Art the dream we both howled. The new name seems to fit perfectly.Besides liking all the same toys as the dog, this guy is a fast favourite.I keep having to confiscate the Swedish Chef from cat clutches. He was even stolen from this photo shoot.

His & Her Royal Highnesses

Xena and Yus (aka Ewie) striking a pose. I missed getting a photo of them "kissing" the other day because my camera was in the other room. When I went for it, they knew something was up so started acting all aloof. Now I keep my camera right beside me.....just in case.

That ball is Xena's new favourite. It glows in the dark.

winter has arrived

It's official. Today .... at 2:15pm .... white snowflakes are falling. You heard it here first.

Endako Fitness Program

Here's what I've been doing lately. Never mind the "Biggest Loser" ranch .... come on up to our ranch and chuck truckloads and truckloads of wood. After a few days of that I'm feeling pretty tough and ready for the next project.The winter's wood is all in now, so it can go ahead and snow any old time. We had our first hard frost last night and today we will harvest the garden.

Happy 3rd day of Fall

The month of September has been a glorious one so far. It did freeze the other night, though, and it's near that now....and raining outside. Very close to being snow.

Yesterday, we decided to harvest all the veggies that were above ground (well most of them). These potatoe plants have had it........but the horseradish is happy.Xena is helping Art harvest the tomatoes. Moments after this photo I caught her absconding with a mouthful, only to spit them out after finding that they weren't quite what she was hoping. She just can't help herself .... she's a kleptomaniac.This was a lot of plant for not much fruit. I know, Carol, they look like little pumpkins, don't they, but they're not.Actually, I don't know what they are. What we planted was Butternut Squash, which these orange ones do not look like, and Acorn Squash which are supposed to be green but these ones came out white. I think the seed company got some packaging mixed up.The Spaghetti Squash is wonderful and plentiful, as well as the Zucchini.

This the new composter .... made out of tires and sat upon that new pad Art made.Heading off with some of the "loot" to put in the basement until we can get some cold storage built.My discovery of the day was raw turnip. Well, actually Rutabaga. All you Weight Watcher type persons probably already know this, but it's new to me. Peel 'em, cut 'em into fingers and snack away. YUM !!! They are sweet and crunchy and way, WAY good! Art says that when he was a kid they dipped the ends in sugar before each bite. Also very delicious. Well, we have plenty and I now have a new favourite snack.