- Sunday, 1/12: Mocha is playing like a real kitten should...first time, ever. She's eating with gusto. We've turned the corner to recovery. Listened to a wild NFL Kansas City/Houston game where it was 24-0, Texans, and then the Chiefs scored 41 unanswered points. Final score, 51-31, Chiefs...a lot of defense! Then, listened to the Packers beat the Seahawks 28-23...boo, hiss...wanted Seattle to win. Guess we'll root for Chiefs, since they are in the State of Missouri. I looked to the online site where I got my W-2 forms the past 2 years and found the 2019 W-2 form for me from Petco. Now, I just need to find the form for Mid-Rivers' Pension, and I'm ready to do taxes. I did more online research on pole buildings. Mary rolled the rest of her yarn and read. Kind of a duddy Sunday as far as activity.
- Monday, 1/13: I removed two 10-year old fire alarms, plus their brackets, and installed 2 new ones. Also, assessed other old alarms and batteries for the old alarms. We need to buy 3 more to replace existing 10-year old fire alarms. Mary made laundry soap from Fels Naptha bars. She also made 40 tortillas in 1 hour...a new record. Katie started college classes in Gulfport.
- Tuesday, 1/14: Found what I thought was a good pickup for sale online near Ewing (only a few miles away). What was listed as in very good condition was a junker...tailgate held on with a rachet strap, a broken rear shock absorber hanging down, completely bald tires, a grinding sound when driven, air gushing through the heater core, a low coolant light on in the dashboard, a crack from top to bottom in the windshield, rusted body...we respectively told the woman that we wouldn't buy it. At least we didn't have to drive far to witness what she lied about online. I burned trash in the afternoon, which took 2.5 hours...a lot of boxes, Christmas wrapping, and old oily rags. The last time we burned was in April, so it was quite a stack of stuff. After sunset, several flocks of snow geese flew east to west. They are way early...usually we see them in February/March. Mom flew to Phoenix to visit friends. In the evening, I looked online and in books for various types of wine to make. Some that I'm considering include grapefruit, watermelon, parsnip, pumpkin, blackberry, elderberry, cherry, autumn olive, white clover, strawberry, dandelion, garlic, rhubarb, apple, apricot, and snow pea pod wine.
- Wednesday, 1/15: Mary did laundry, swept, and dusted. A cloudy day meant most of the drying took place inside, over the wood stove. Clothes drying lasted until midnight. Emailed Lisa at Mid-Rivers to find out that I'll be getting a 1099 tax form related to my pension, which will be mailed the last week in January. I removed packing tape that blew loose covering the NE chicken coop window and re-applied it, this time using a heat gun to make the stickum work better...worked like a charm. Did the same trick on the other north and 2 south windows...3 more windows to do. Looked up soils info through USDA's online soils maps and downloaded a pdf file of a soils map of our property. We have 4 basic soils, all heavily laden in clay...no surprise there. What is surprising is a bulk of our soil is classified as a silt loam, especially where the land is covered with timber. Where our Bartlett Pear tree is located is in this soil, which explains why it does so well. All of our soil is highly acidic, which we know, because wood ash, which is basic, helps the garden thrive. With this info, I have a better understanding of soil types and characteristics for building.
- Thursday, 1/16: I sharpened 1 of my chainsaw chains and we cut down 2 dead cherry trees in the SW woods, sawed them up, split them and stacked them in the woodshed. Discovered a healthy piece missing out of the sprocket of my chainsaw. My chain was super dull, even after sharpening it. Took an entire tank of gas to cut 2 trees that were 5" at their bases, which is pathetic, even though these 2 trees were thoroughly cured and very hard. It's time for some parts refurbishing on the chainsaw. Had cod & sweet potatoes.
- Friday, 1/17: About 8 am, it started snowing. Then, it started raining at 24° and rained very hard, while freezing. All tree branches became waving castanets in the wind. By the dog's nighttime walk, the lawn was covered with sheer ice...even grass blades sticking up through the ice were covered with ice. Churchill, who is petrified of walking on ice, wouldn't walk up the steps into the house. It took 2 of us to get him up the steps and because he walks so stiff-legged on ice, he fell at the top, but we got him back on his feet, immediately. We watched The Heat movie and 2 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Mom sent a photo of herself next to a Joshua Tree in Arizona (see below).
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| Mom with a Joshua Tree. |
- Saturday, 1/18: The temperature today, started roughly at freezing, so we took shovels to the ice on the porch and removed it. We're all walking gingerly on the ice outside. Temperatures are dropping as the day progresses, while a strong wind shatters ice out of all tree branches. I'm so, so glad I don't have to drive to work! Mom and her friends went on a trip to Sedona, AZ. She texted another cactus photo, this time with her in front of a Saguaro Cactus (see below). I looked for pickups online throughout the day. Mary started crocheting her afghan. By nighttime, ice on the ground was thoroughly frozen and when you step on it, cracks echo off to the left and right. We walk on eggs outside, because it's so slippery. Had the 2nd half of the world's best apple pie that Mary made yesterday, along with tea, while watching 3 episodes of Cosmos, by Neil deGrasse Tyson, a DVD set that Bill gave to Mary at Christmas. It was made in 2014 and it's very good. When we went to bed after midnight, the NW wind was howling, and the temperature was 9°.
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| Mom with a Saguaro Cactus. |
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