- Sunday, 1/19: Mary baked 4 loaves of bread. She also figured out what we wanted to plant and then the seeds we need for our gardens. She made a turkey pot pie for our main meal. I researched how to do grafting, budding, and cuttings on trees, especially apple trees. My main source is a book Mary bought 10 years ago called Plant Propagation, a British book. It's excellent. I then picked rootstock, from Fedco in Maine, where I can get 10 semi-dwarf apple rootstocks for $30. I can take one of those and grow more rootstock. This one can be used for grafting on both apple and crabapple trees. We have an old McIntosh apple tree, with a hollow trunk, that I want to graft buds or scions onto new rootstocks and create several new trees, so we can remove the old tree. It will take a few years. Mom said they visited Flagstaff, AZ, where they saw an ancient crater and a petrified forest (see photos below). Overnighted in Holbrook and drove back home to Buckeye, today. She said Sedona was a tourist trap, where they didn't stop. Bill texted that he was making another batch of beer and bought a bucket to start making wine, sometime. We listened to the AFC and NFC championship football games...Chiefs 35, Titans 24; and 49ers 37, Packers 20. Turned off the radio at the start of the 4th quarter of the 49ers/Packers game, because we were sick and tired of the 3-4 ads that they aired over and over. Thought it was pretty funny when they announced the Pepto Bismol "Most Upsetting Play of the Game.”
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| Mom at the crater formed 50,000 years ago that is 1 mile wide and 700 feet deep. |
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| Petrified forest in Arizona. |
- Monday, 1/20: Snow was falling when we woke, so we called the vet and told them we'd try to make it in on Friday (things might be thawed by then). Freshly fallen snow on ice makes it really slippery outside. Mary created a 2020 garden calendar to keep track of monthly garden chores. I ordered seeds, apple tree rootstocks, and 50 strawberry plants. I also ordered tea from Stash Tea. Looked at vitamins, but didn't order anything. Looked for pickups online. Several schools closed in the area. Don't even see the neighbor's 4x4 pickups moving. You'd need chains on all 4 tires to travel on this stuff. It's nice and warm in the living room, where the woodstove heat exists (see below).
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| Mocha on Mary, taken 1/21/20. |
- Tuesday, 1/21: I read and took notes in a book entitled Prescription Alternatives. Mom texted that she visited with Pete Robison, her cousin that she hasn't seen for 63 years, when he was 19 years old (see below). She said Pete reminded her of her father, Jack Robison. They had a good visit. Bill said his newest beer brewing is coming right along (see below). We had a little bit of thawing outside, but there's still a lot of slippery ice. Saw an immature bald eagle at noon and Vs of geese flying about.
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| Cousins Pete Robison and Ruth Melvin. |
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| Bill's latest batch of beer. |
- Wednesday, 1/22: Mary made blackberry crunch for a dessert. She made barbecued pork loin, corn on the cob, and sweet potatoes for our main meal. She also worked on cross-stitch and a puzzle Katie gave her for Christmas. I researched different vitamins and minerals online and ordered some from Swanson Vitamins in Fargo, ND. A bit of mist, followed by sticky wet snow, that was coming down at about 30°, makes traction much easier outside.
- Thursday, 1/23: Mary made 32 flour tortillas, and then chimichangas for our main meal. I tore into the ground floor west room closet, where I have empty wine bottle stored. Discovered dead, dried up baby mice on the floor in there...knew I needed to get that cleaned up. Removed items, cleaning as they came out. Didn't finish the job. Bill called. He has a camshaft position sensor warning on his car. Since he has a warranty, he's thinking that should cover this issue. We watched the 2017 movie, Wonder, starring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson. It's exceptionally good. Saw a bobcat track in the snow. Mom flew to Las Vegas and will spend a few days with Pam, her niece.
- Friday, 1/24: Woke with about 3" of freshly fallen snow on the ground. Saw tracks where a coyote checked out rabbit trails north of the Machine Shed, then went off into the west field. I cleaned snow off the Cadillac, started it, and drove to the pavement and back, just to see if I could make it...everything was fine on State Highway J, even though MODOT (Missouri Department of Transportation) showed covered roads. We took Mocha to the vet...got her stitches removed and she got another dewormer dose, plus a first batch of shots. She weighed 3.38 pounds, up from 1.8 pounds the last visit. Drs. Carson and Briscoe were happy with her progress. Stopped at Aldi in Hannibal and bought a handful of items.
- Saturday, 1/25: We saw a Cooper's Hawk flying near the chicken coop in the morning hours. Chickens were inside the coop, so no harm there. Mary cleaned up books on the living room shelves. She also pulled 81 books out of our book collection to be donated. I finished cleaning the west room closet. I have 91 750-ml sized empty wine bottles. I have 48 four-inch square plastic containers with big lids on them that formerly held Sam's Club corn starch or baking powder that I'll use to store bolts, nuts, nails, and various hardware. I packaged them up into large plastic garbage bags and draped plastic bags over the wine bottles. Used a plastic tote to store all of my other wine making stuff. Added my 2 glass 6-gallon and 5-gallon carboys and the 6.5-gallon brew bucket to the closet. Now I have some order to my wine making material and it's in one location. Mom texted about her visit with Pam in Las Vegas.
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