This is what you can do for your family with your tax return.....

Every year I discuss how we buy organic meat and veggies and garden and and and eat soooo much better than most people we know AND SPEND LESS PER WEEK/MONTH.

Every year I hear people make excuses for not doing the same. Even though it is easy, the money just isn't there in the fall when the meat is ready. And there are shiny new toys to buy when tax returns show up (heck, even I WANT A NEW MAC!) and people end up buying trampolines and computers and stuff (waves hello to those who know I've just outed them!)

This year buy a CSA subscription. Find one here. It is more than likely that the first one you pick will be full and you'll have to get on a waiting list. Don't give up. Keep calling/emailing. Seriously. This year buy your meat in bulk, invest in a deep freeze. That freezer will store food that is left over from the CSA too.

The food you eat turns into you, fuels your body and brain. Local food is yummy fresh, doesn't spoil as easily, and is better (often cheaper) for you PLUS you boost your local economy. Let's not overlook the simple fact that you will spend less money on food overall and then can have more money for toys later.

Do it. For you and for your family. No more excuses. Tax money will be here soon. I know it's not the usual for me to sound preachy, but this is something I really, really care about.

Food For Thought

The Chicken Palace

This is the plan: we'll clean out these buildings, construct a run between them, add roosts and nesting boxes, a window or two for light and ventilation and ta da....a chicken palace. The idea was originally Abby's of Life by Sugar Creek, I think.....all my farmer friends have suggested using what we have so we can get the chickens started. This building will be bigger than we need, but easier on both labor and pocket book. 

Thoughts?

Farm Life Photos: Brown

Our first truckload of firewood.

Lil'Bug tracks. 

Farm house couture.....

Pie. Sorry. 

Mystery plant of the day.....need macro lens.....

Farm Life Photos: Orange

What are these? Edible? 

This was edible but not very tasty. Sweet potatoes, bacon, and chard. Missing flavour, the seasoning wasn't right. Suggestions?

I need a macro lens. I do. I do.

Farm Life Photos: Red

Tractor Shy

It finally snowed enough to plow and YAY! out comes the tractor and my camera to document the occasion.......

Vroom. Wait. 
Clearly, I stole the tractor's soul with my camera clicks. Boo.

And so it sat in the driveway, almost but not quite blocking the propane refill. Sigh. Life sized tractor shaped boat anchor indeed. 

25 More Random Things, Jr. High style

 Random Things

1) I once made up an imaginary boyfriend. His name was Zeke and he was a 14 year old olympic skiier.  I even wrote letters in his handwriting and showed them to my friends. Stupid.

2) I was a HUGE fan of Dirty Dancing and permed my hair to look like Baby's, tight rolled my jeans and jean shorts, and wore white canvas shoes.

3) I wore blue and green bonnie bell eyeshadow.

4) I kept make up in a Caboodles.

5) I had an ESPRIT bag, but it was a duffle and not a shoulder bag like the cool kids had.

6) I watcher Beverly Hills 90210.

7) I was a fan of Debbie Gibson AND Tiffany. 

8) I mastered the three way call and once had 15 friends from school on at the same time AND also made calls where the 3rd person didn't know there was a 2nd listening in. 

9) I rode my bike around wearing a walkman listening to Depeche Mode Enjoy the Silence because a boy I was crushing on liked the band. 

10) I also had a huge crush on the paper boy and waited on the porch everyday for evening delivery. He ended up bringing his kid brother along to throw the paper at our house. 

11) I loved 1950's music and had a sock hop birthday party. 

12) NKOTB...I know what that means and they should not reunion. 

13) Lipgloss

14) Sun in. 

15) I was planning on naming any and all future children Taylor. 

16) Ouji boards freaked me out. I, to this day, have never used one and left the classroom when someone used one as a show and tell.

17) I helped stage a protest about our schools cockroach problem. 

18) I was in lots of school plays. I was a drama nerd. 

19) I died my hair red to look like Tori Amos and a red headed popular girl thought I was trying to look like her stalker style. 

20) I was not a "popular" girl.

21) I was in Amnesty International. The host teacher was soooooo cool. She invited me to go out of state to a u2 concert (maybe out of country?) and my parents (rightly, maybe) got really freaked out about it.

22) I was a huge u2 fan, I accidentally got Joshua Tree at a garage sale inside another cassette tape case and I was hooked. It rocked my world.

23) My appendix burst in the midst of a very turbulent family drama and I ended up spending 3 months on my aunt's cattle ranch to recover. I mucked out chicken houses and worked a Ren Faire, took long walks in the back woods listening to Joshua Tree on the walkman. It was that summer that I became a spiritual person.

24) I used this stinky white face cream in a tub to mask and wash my face. I don't remember what it was called but once I forgot to wash it off and everyone at the bus stop got a good laugh.

25) I was in a 1950's band and we practiced in my attic. I even called a Chicago diner to book a gig. Oh yeah, they laughed at me. 

So, that was fun. Now I am sick of memes though. Look for an actual update with photos later today.

Dreams and what they mean

The July before Blueberry was born I dreamt I was 5 months pregnant, on the road assigned to take pictures of pink houses, and I encountered a screech owl in a dead/charred forest. The owl was awake and alert in the daylight after I had knocked on the tree it walked out at eye level and almost nose to nose we stared at it. Then I backed off and took its picture. The baby started kicking and writhing. I walked on past to find the pink house and finish my journey. This dream sequence is still incredibly vivid in my memory almost 3 years later. The conversations I had with people along the way, each pink house I took pictures of, the editor who assigned me the project......

What does this mean?

Pink houses. Let's start with that. My Aunt owns and operates the Villa Bed and Breakfast in Galveston, TX. It is the pinkest house I have ever seen. As pictured. When she was first house hunting I found it for her on Realtor.com. She said no, no way, too pink. Sometimes we reject too quickly based on first impressions what is actually a perfect match.

When I was 4 months pregnant Dearest bought me the camera in the dream.

Owls. I love owls. Blueberry is a watcher. She reminds me very much of an owl in her personality.

I don't know. Dearest often says that the most boring thing in the world is someone talking about their night dreams. Perhaps. But I think for me, it is part of the creative process and part of reconciling reality. You know? Just a thought.

25 Farm/Life Updates

Meme style. I seem to be ok brain function wise to complete memes and facebook "twitter" so lets see if I can squeeze out a farm update that way.......

1) We are all stricken with death flu 2009. 

2) It is the first time Blueberry has EVER been sick. Before Wednesday she had never had any medication other than ora-gel. Now she has had infant Tylenol, but she didn't think it helped.

3) Blueberry decided her binky is evil. (Lil'Bug was 3 when she gave hers up and she cried and cried...it was bitten through and she threw it away herself).

4) The sunrise here never gets old. It is beautiful every day. 

5) It is neat having our Amish neighbors visit us. It's like a rift in time. I get so filled with happiness at the sight of the horse and buggies on our road. 

6) We've been invited to a local Lutheran church by some "Englisher" neighbors (that's the Amish word for what we are) and we have as of yet all been too sick to go.

7) I mentioned to Dearest that the bathtub was still draining slow and he took it apart at bedtime last week only to have the hard to find/replace pieces dissolve and crumble in his hands. Metal pipes can do that!? Luckily American Plumbing Supply in Des Moines had what we needed. I always recommend them for really hard to find things, but they really came through for us this time!

8) It finally snowed enough to get out the tractor and plow the drive!

9) The tractor died 3/4's of the way. Dead. That was the bad news Abby mentioned on FB.

10) Now we are not sure what we'll do next snowfall. Ok, actually we do. We'll be out there HAND SHOVELING.......soooooooo not looking forward to that.

11) The sunrise really never gets old! While I was writing this, it went from deep purple to brilliant pink, to that weird rainbow blue, green, yellow, now blazing ball of fire halo'ed by an ocean of lavender. I really never thought sunrises to be very poetic before living here. 

12) I have yet to capture sunrises or any other of the moments I have really wanted to share because I have been pausing to actually enjoy and savor the moments. I'm sure I'll get over that soon, but I hope not!

13) We have a pregnant opossum living in our outbuilding. They are rabies resistant and eat rodents, play dead (rather than attack) when approached, so we are going to let her stay there....until we get chickens. Opossums are actually not so good around livestock and there feces carries bad news for horses....

14) According to Lil'Bug we have a GIANT troll living in the back field. It lives in (or is?) a gigantic uprooted tree. It does look like a good home for something, maybe an ogre, but she informed me that it is a troll even though trolls usually live in water.

15) I miss baking bread. However, I think I have the kitchen design finally figured out. 

16) I think I can finish unpacking this week.

17) I bought a Calyx. I love it. Seriously. I wanted to buy from a local mom, but when I went to Tattooed Mama's house and tried on various soft structured carriers, none of them fit me secure enough because I am so petite (and in short torso'ed) and yet squishy in the middle plus Blueberry's size. She did not have a Calyx, but suggested that I look into that brand. I am so glad I did. 

18) I am wafting on the idea of retro fitting the grain bin to a chicken coop. It would be easiest, but would it be best long term? Could we change it back? Would  prefer a coup close to the orchard and garden for ease of manure distribution, chicken powered garden pest control, closer to a well pump? Just thoughts......I think we'll still use the grain bin idea though.

19) When the bathtub was out of commission, Dearest got the downstairs shower working! Yay! The drain had consisted of aluminum cans? For a day, I also had no kitchen sink drain. I had to do dishes using my four-year-old's toy storage bins. Nice. Let me tell  you, I was super nice about it. We all do our part.

20) A run down of sinks/drains that currently don't work: just the downstairs toilet and sink.....and the laundry room sink hook up is naked. The washer and dry need to switch positions, but that is not really the same thing, just annoying. Anyway, Dearest redid all the pipes/drains in the basement so that they did not pour out on the floor. That's a good thing.

21) I love this house. I love everything about it. Even the odd things like how high up on the wall the light switches are and how high the door knobs are, as if the first owners/builders were really tall people! I love the wood work, the floors, the built in storage, the fireplace, and the potential and opportunity that this place offers us.

22) Considering 21, I have had a hard time getting back to the Des Moines house to finish packing and cleaning. Now we have an open house on the 15th, so I will have to as soon as the girls are feeling better. Remember, if you know anyone who wants a HUGE Victorian in an urban neighborhood with lots of gardening space, send them that way. ;) 

23) I filled the house with smoke at dinner last night, in true Mama Podkayne culinary style. I did not, however, ruin dinner. Good, considering we had guests. ;) 

24) We bought firewood as a truckload. 

25) Blueberry is also full out crawling. She learned high 5's. I think she's almost got her first sign, more, figured out, though she only uses it when she's excited. 

As soon as I don't look like death warmed over, I plan to blog more about the Calyx with pictures. 

Running Away

A recent meme floating around got me thinking. To be more specific, some of my friends entries got me thinking. It was about sports and running. 

When I was 7 my best friend in the whole world lived behind me, across a clothesline and an alley. We were separated by more than that at school and less than that at home. At school she was athletic and well liked, but not in the gifted program. I was small, picked last at everything, and thriving in the gifted program. These demarcations defined us on the playground. 

The thing was though, I was actually good at sports. Really good. I won the free throw competition for my age group in the 4th grade. I could out shoot the big kids in any game of HORSE or PIG and I was fast. I loved soccer and was an awesome goalie. When PE time came, I was picked last at everything and trailed behind the runners during laps. Why? I think it is obvious. Edited to add****For those who don't know me, I have always been really, really much smaller than my peers. As an adult I am only 4'9". I was also poor growing up and dressed funny. Ok, I still do. Sometimes I don't even bother to match socks and I always wear them inside out, seams are itchy!

Sage asked me why one day. I had beaten her in a long sprint to get to the swings at a park, and out of breath, she wondered why I didn't run like that at school. She just didn't understand. I loved school so much, but at recess I would sit at the fence and read books. I didn't have an answer for her then. 

When we moved away the next summer I had to give up sports because in Illinois the school charged a fee and required camps. My family was too poor to afford that just for a 5th grader to play after-school basketball. So all I was left with was riding my bike around the neighborhood and the humiliating sessions of school PE. I grew to hate sports. 

I still love to run and swim, but I loathe "working out", I will never jog, and the mere thought of going to a gym makes me want to vomit. We don't own a treadmill because the going joke is that we already pay (in taxes) for the public sidewalks plus you get the benefit of fresh air. If I have extra energy to spare, I use it to mop and vacuum and haul bins to storage. Yard work is awesome too. The thought of walking to nowhere seems silly.

And yet, I totally get the whole working out/sports drive. It feels good, it is alone time, and it is lovely to feel so perfectly human. I just can't run on demand. 

So that got me thinking about unschooling. I've mentioned before that I am a product of the public schools and also that I have unschooled myself my whole life. That duality is similar to my friendship with Sage. School was a refuge from my turbulent home life, but so was my own imagination. I could run like the wind when not confined, I devoured books, and loved the sunshine, but in school I did what I had to, excelled, but it was simply a way to spend time in between my other life. It changed how I viewed myself and changed how I found joy in things.

Lil'Bug loves her art classes. She is learning and working with mediums I cannot provide her here at home, but I can't help but notice that her creativity with her at home artwork has changed. It is not as free, not as expressive. Maybe that change would have happened naturally, but I can't help but wonder if the situation of sitting with peers and seeing what they are doing and coloring inside the lines on demand isn't changing her view of herself and her world, much like what happened with me and sports. 

Just thoughts......

25 Random Things, ala Grub House!

Thanks Heather for posting this challenge, though you didn't tag me......I'm in need of a meme that doesn't require full paragraph formation....

1. Kool Aid grosses me out.
   
2. I want to dye my hair purple. Deep, dark, velvety purple. 
3. My favourite colour is blue-grey, but I don't like wearing it or painting rooms with it. I love it in flowers, my daughters' eyes, and in sunsets. 
4. I like using British spellings of words. 
5. I hate talking on the phone and I avoid it whenever possible. I only have 6 contacts in my phone. If I have called you in the last month, you are likely one of the 6. 
6. I love Iowa Chops and my secret seasoning is awesome on them. 
7. It bugs me that people think I am a city creature and will suffer the farm life. I lived on a farm as a kid, burned trash, mucked out chicken houses, shot at things with a gun for target practice, sat in the fire truck during forest and prairie fire calls, and slept outside to watch the stars. Farm life is exactly what I expected. 
8. I would also like to wear interesting jewelry but I hate wearing jewelry. I wear my wedding ring only. Sometimes a watch, sometimes a pendant, but sometimes is so very rare. 
9. I don't wear make up either.
10. I also don't wear sunscreen. 
11. I need a new tea pot. One that I can clean and is big. Then I will also get a tea pot cozy.
12. I love, go weak kneed at, big Victorian mansions. I get breathless. I don't ever want to live in one though. Haunted Mansion was close enough. Farm house is a perfect fit for me, balancing the practical with the beautiful. 
13. I moved to Iowa when I was 16, a junior in high school, and I never got to say goodbye to my best friends in Illinois. One of them contacted me last week after 15 years. Now the other three are also on facebook, but I'm not sure what to say to them now. 
14. My sister is getting married in July of this year! I have no idea what to wear to the wedding or what to get her as a present. I am super happy she did not ask me to be in the wedding party, even though I love her soooo much. 
15. I have a new sewing machine I've never used. I want to. I am afraid of the machine.
16. I love old science fiction. I am giddy that I get to teach it this semester. 
17. My favorite movie is Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. 
18. I've been in a plane crash. 
19. I have little patience with stupid people, less with mean people, and even less with a stupid, mean, know it all that I know. She's smart, but vain about it to the point of being unable to admit she's wrong. I hate this because I recognize it in myself sometimes. 
20. I've had my writing published, poetry and essays. I wish I had time to be more proactive about my work now. 
21. I am fascinated by bees.
22. I drink my tea with honey. White sugar bothers me now in a way that it did not before.
23. My car is currently so dirty the license plate is unreadable. 
24. I once caught and kept a wild snake as a pet. Not a garter snake either. It was a three foot long Bull Snake, that might have actually been a Black Pine Snake. I let it go after a week. 
25. When Lil'Bug and I read the description of a changeling in her faerie field guide she thought the description fit her baby sister (because of the hair) and secretly I felt it fit me. I've always been a bit odd, able to spout information about complicated and historical things (American History, Architecture, educational philosophies) and yet fascinated with the everyday mundane simple things like watch gear mechanics, bread baking, and paper. I have zero fashion sense, often wearing unmatched socks, and bad hair. Add that to my very small stature and I've always been the odd one out.  

There 25 things. That was hard!

OK, I'm back and this is a long one......

Our main obstacle has been the cold outside and keeping it outside. I think the lowest it got was -18F with -40F wind chill...... We had pipes freeze, specifically pipes that were of the hot water kind and related to our brand new tankless water heater. Only 3 (4?) radiators work to heat the main floor and they are all constantly on. Or were, today it was in the 30's and the passive solar-ness of our southern windows helped out. 

Des Moines got LOTS of snow. We got an inch, maybe. 

Sometimes the sunrise here is like a 1970's velvet painting. This picture is crappy, but just imagine the colors more vibrant. 

Sometimes the colors are more like this. 

Blueberry is teething. Drooling and teething. She pulled herself up to standing by biting the coffee table. 
Boxes are fun. So are pirate queens.

Did I mention Blueberry is teething AND crawling. Reason #1 I have no time to blog. Mobile mouthing everything baby in a semi-construction zone box mess? Oh my.

Tina Fey? Messy updo? No, this baby grew her hair in the era of Sarah Palin! 

A beauty queen who can field dress a moose? Maybe. Right now she's more likely to just gnaw on the sash. 

Not funny mama. Mmmmmm that camera looks tasty.....

I wonder what media is in this box?

Agh! It's a flying box attack! Oh wait.....Lil'Bug! Yay! 

Quiet corner of my living room.

Agh! She's on the move again......a sharp, poisonous, on fire thing is spotted and identified as a desired plaything. Time to baby proof the house!

So that's basically been my life for the last two weeks. I lost a box of diapers. For future reference, do not pack diapers currently in use for ease of move. That would be the ONE box we lost. I lost a baby gate due to high winds on the highway, possibly some clothing as well. 

Other things that are different:

Burning our trash. The scientific law that states things that you want to burn will not catch fire applies to trash and firewood. 

It is soooooo quiet out here. I love it. 

Going out to eat is a 20-40 minute drive. 

Clean windows. Our old house had 48 windows and some had not been cleaned in decades. Even when I tried they did not look clean. Here they are like mirrors. So very clean......

Other things......2009 Goals/Revolution. Last year my word was Release. I think I did pretty well with that one. Though a couple of new things happened that I am harboring anger about. Logically I can think them through and I know I should let it go, but the anger is still raw so....anyway ....2009's word will be Root. We will be planting our gardens, planning our farm, and setting our roots in the community. I plan to work on my novels, pick up poetry again (the root of my creative expression), and get back to my expressive roots. This year I am also going to focus my cooking on heritage recipes from the Cajun tradition. 

One last thought....facebook is a time-suck. 

Things that are different....

Cluster flies. Does anyone else remember that Phish song, Farmhouse? Yeah those. "All we can do is swat them...." Bah.

The farmhouse has only one set of stairs going up. This is just different than what we are used to.

It is quiet here. Part of that is that the windows are new and awesome, but part of it is just winter and rural. We can still hear trains though. 

Hunting seasons. Saturday morning I was bathing the girls (about 6am, they wake up at 5am ish) and heard a very loud bang, like a door downstairs being slammed hard. It wasn't, it is muzzle loader season and there was a guy who fired a shot at doe in the pasture across the road. It just echoed funny. Muzzle loaders are loud. 

Getting mail from the mail box. Just different. I am used to it being right by the front door.

Groceries. The sign at the local grocery in the produce section said Organic BUT the selection under the sign was just produce but for a single bag of organic baby carrots. At this particular store most of the selection was the store brand and much of the things we usually buy just were not there. What was there was more expensive. 

When people find out we just moved here, many have said, "Why?" in a disgusted tone. I did not expect that. 

Trash service. Yeah. There is none. Trash is burned. So we will have to rethink what we consume to yet another degree. I don't intend to have a dump behind my house, nor does burning plastic sound all that great. So, yet again, changing further the way we live. 

Not having a dishwasher sucks, but not as much as flushing the toilets (which only lasted 3 days) with buckets did. Or not having hot water. Or not having a way to make food hot. So really, everything is great! Dearest fixed all of those issues last week. ;)

The Internet is not as fast with the satellite connection. I'm used to watching streaming videos and playing streaming radio. Can't do that now. I wanted to blame the lesser Mac but Dearest says its the Internet not the machine. We also have to free TV signal most of the time. We don't watch TV, but sometimes view shows on PBS with Lil'Bug. Yesterday I got a clear audio but the picture was still fuzzy. I think we will have to investigate the local library for DVD's of the shows she liked.

So that's it. Just different. Just busy. Just bliss.

First Week in Photos

So did I mention that Dearest is the awesomest? This week he pulled the pipes out. The above picture is what the cold water pipes looked like. Yeah. Actually they had more  holes than that but this was the best picture. Well, the prettiest picture anyway.

Here's a picture of the sunrise. Not the brilliant colors of the other morning, but simple. In real life the colors were more like that of a 1970's velvet painting background. It is so divine to snuggle a nursling, sip hot tea (I finally got a cup!), and just be present for the moment.

The only reason I got any unpacking done yesterday at all was that I didn't light a fire. I love it. I love the warmth, the light, the everything about it. 

I have more photos, but less time than I thought this morning. More later.

Just a Quick Hello

I promise a long, picture filled post is coming as soon as I get the photos downloaded and a find a corner filled up with spare time to write a bit......

So far the progress is this: I can do laundry, hot bath the kiddos, flush a toilet using the lever, and COOK FOOD! All improvements over three days ago. Dearest seriously rocks. All of my furry and feathered kids are now here with us as well. Lil'Bug has settled in a bit, though the back and forth to continue packing is "getting on her annoyin'".....yeah, me too.  

I'm unpacking and unpacking and unpacking. We had an awesome move on Saturday that got most of our stuff here, the big stuff anyway, so the house has filled up and feels a bit more like home, chaos and all. 

Dearest and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary on Sunday with a quiet family night in front of the fireplace reading to Lil'Bug and Blueberry. Perfect. 

Up for this week: I have to finish up the online course design for the semester by tomorrow night, meal plan for the next week and a half, shop for said meal plan, not- at-the-park day, Lil'Bug's art class, playdate on Friday here at the farm, and, oh yeah, unpack and unpack and unpack. 

Ps, Erin I am not ignoring your email......I am working on a reply between the waves of chaos. It's been 14 years, I figure I better not let so many more days go by! ;)

And.......uncovering the fireplace......

And.......uncovering the fireplace......
A lovely surprise. :)

All clean!


Fitting that their first snack in the farm house is apples. They were contentedly munching for a good 20 minutes, which is how I managed to get everything swept and the downstairs windows washed. The boiler guy was up and down and in and out draining radiators, but the kids were amused. I put together their toy bins Nana got them (me) for Christmas and then we explored.

What I found in the "not really a room" secret space I will post later this week. I just about teared up with glee. It was like old house karma cashed in. I hope we can find a way to put it back......I know, I don't blog for a week and then I leave with a cliffhanger, unfair!

Dearest is staying at the farm all alone this week and we just bring him food and more blankets (thus the effort to get the fireplace working and I wouldn't be surprised if he moves his bed to the main room.....). He's making progress on the heat situation, the bathroom issues, and such. We miss him terribly, but are faring well packing and baking and cleaning.

I was contacted this week through facebook by a very long lost friend. That plus packing reminded be to be incredibly grateful for Dearest being in my life. We'll be celebrating our ten year wedding anniversary on Sunday. Yes, TEN. Time sure does fly. Of all the times I moved as a kid, they were all sudden, sad, and abruptly cutting off with established relationships. As an adult, we've moved around Des Moines, but always because we wanted to and because it meant adventure and promise. I found the Dutch hex Dearest's grandma gave us on our first anniversary, it happens to feature the colors I picked out for the farm house. We never hung it here at the haunted mansion because we were pretty sure the neighbor delinquents (the 8 year olds behind us) would use it to perfect their egg aim. Anyway, sorry for the ramble, its been a long day.

And yes, I'm on facebook now. And yes, if you're my "friend" you can see the photo she tagged me in and check out my 1990 3-4 inch tall bangs. Geesh. I think there's as much product (specifically Aquanet) in my hair in that photo as I'ved used in the last 15 years! *(Edited to add said photo....I am in the front row, right side.....):

Day 2 of Farm Livin'!!

We took possession of the farm on Monday. MP has done some cleaning, but is mostly just still watching the little ones and making sure I get fed. I stayed overnight yesterday (and tonight) - mainly to make sure the heat situation was under control. I'm glad I stayed . . . I noticed that the downstairs (heated by the brand new hot water boiler) couldn't climb above 60 degrees all day, and dropped to 50 slowly over night. I watched the boiler cycle a few times and found that the temp was to heat the water to 145 when it dropped in temp to 115. Way too cold. It's now set to heat the water to 200 when it drops to 180 - first floor still isn't warm, and I need more blankets. Brrrr! We're going to have some more radiators added to the system. I spent the evening fixing 2 basement doors that the previous occupants had broken while moving stuff out, and insulating the wall of plywood in the basement that used to be a drive in garage - seems to have helped the basement a lot.

We've been lucky not to have had any significant water damage on the main floors, but we did have some pipes break - we now have no water running to the 2nd story. Boiler guy noticed the water pouring into the basement when he was in to put the boiler in before we had taken possession. He found a shut off valve quickly so no damage to speak of (that we've found) apart from the pipes. If I get lucky, the damage will be to the portion of the pipes I have easy access to and I can cut them off and run new line to them from the basement without too much trouble - this may be the case as that is the most likely place for the pipe to have frozen - I can see where the insulation should have gone, not sure where it went : ).

Tomorrow I buy some propane or kerosene space heaters to use in case of emergency, and (hopefully) start tearing out the first floor bathroom.

Other stuff . . . internet is ok with wildblue satellite, but VPN is slow. Telecommuting will be rough.

MP's laptop will be traded with a comparable but less marketable version of her current laptop rather than spend the 300 - 400 to repair. It's a good trade on both ends, but MP is a litle sad - she was attatched to that thing.

Temperature check!

Outside - 22 degrees

Main floor shows 60 degrees on both thermostats - we often set our thermostats this low at our old house, but we can make it hotter if we want - this is as hot as the 1st floor can get at the moment. shiver but it could be worse so no complaints.

Basement was super cold under the addition (no plumbing there), but much warmer under the main part of the house. I turned on two of the space heaters down there just in case, but I think it would have been fine without them. I need to get some thermometers down there - running the space heaters will get expensive soon.

It's lonely out here - I'm eager to get the new bathroom and the hot water installed to MP and the kids can start staying here with me.

Christmas Day

My mac powerbook broke. The power plug stick thing broke off in the plug hole. Gah. Panic. Stupid.

I watched Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer for the first time. How I missed that childhood classic for 31 years is completely beyond my understanding.

Dearest and Lil'Bug made a snow dragon and a sitting snowman.

Stam's chocolate was consumed. Lunch was had at Nana and Pawpaw's. Yummy.

Read aloud Spiderwick book 3. Thank you Uncle Jason!

That's about it. Simple, quiet, lovely.

I'm blogging from Dearest's work laptop while cuddling sleeping nursling, but I won't be updating much more until my computer is ameliorated. Happy holidays!

speaking of heartwarming . . .

Heat is officially on in the new house! Part arrived and was installed today.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve! aka Vaguely Related Heartwarming Photos.......

When it rains it snows. . .

More good luck - the propane kit didn't arrive, so still only the cookstove heating the main floor and space heaters in the basement (furnace for the second floor is working fine). If it comes in tomorrow they'll install it then. If not it won't get there until Friday and we'll have another few days of this. At least it's warmed up to the twenties outside . . .

Stuff and things.

Boiler install wasn't completed yesterday - wrong LP conversion kit had been shipped. Should be installed today.

Also, when the boiler guys got there to start the install, two of the space heaters we had brought down had blown breakers (despite being set on 'low' (750W) setting AND having each on a separate circuit). They said the temp in the basement was 35 degrees.

just a sec . . . .water freezing point . . . Fahrenheit . . . 33 mumble mumble . . .so 35 minus 33 . . .

!

So we had a whole degree to spare - no worries!

The last few days have been the coldest so far this year (highs in the negatives) if another breaker had blown we've had been at freezing soon after. The boiler guys are leaving a propane heater there tonight to supplement the space heaters just to be sure we don't have problems.

It's been a rough week trying to manage that situation - I can't express how happy I am that the boiler will be in today. I've been lying awake at night worried about freezing pipes half a state away. Basement pipes wouldn't be a huge deal (not that it would be nice) but we'd replace them and move on. I've been more worried about the upstairs - the plaster is all intact or repaired in this house, floors and woodwork are done, etc. If that were water damaged from freezing pipes . . . . I suppose we'd be able to fix it eventually, but it would be a big blow to the pocketbook and to morale, which is generally lower than it should be at the moment.

On the upside I talked to the family yesterday evening and they are planning to be out on saturday. We'd hoped for yesterday, but the cold snap is causing them just as many problems as it's causing us. So various errands and Christmas prep today, then Christmas eve and Christmas, then move prep on friday and actual moving stuff and taking possession on saturday - not a bad schedule. I'll get the plumbing on bathroom number one torn out and fixed and make a final call on the plumbing in bathroom number two, then get the hot water heater installed, then move down the family! Good times.

I'll get MP to add some heartwarming yet vaguely related photos to this so it's not so boring to read.

Go Team Stamps!

only 98 million miles . . .

Between our farmhouse and what amounted to pretty much the only heat source for a few days. The wood cookstove the current family uses just wasn't cutting it with all the wind and the cold snap - add to the equation the cracked boiler and furnace with no ductwork - the pipes they were a-freezin'!

We drove down to put the space heaters in the basement during the ice storm that was making life fun for everyone a few days ago. When we got there I broke off an icicle from a leaking pipe - about 5 minutes later the icicle was back - I'm glad we decided to make the drive.

So current state - boiler to be installed monday. Furnace up and running yesterday. Wood stove (which actually does put off enough heat for the first floor) won't be gone until the boiler is up. In the meantime we put space heaters in the basement so the pipes down there won't freeze again.

deep breaths. repeat - "the pipes won't freeze", "the pipes won't freeze" . . .

So the emergency appears to be mitigated - we are releived, and thankful. Thanks to bluegate farms for the offer of help!

What our life looks like right now......

Blueberry sat up for the first time from crawling position this week. This photo is of the 3rd time she did it!

So serious, this one.

Our house has been invaded by self multiplying boxes. Which means loads of wild fun for a four year old! Her energy is amazing. She's been helping me pack and bake. I can't believe we take possession of the farm next week and next week is Christmas and then after that I get to see a few friends that I haven't in almost 5 years (or more!). It'll be like a debate team reunion only without Paul.
See? She's up to no good. No good at all.

She's teaching the little one how to make faces at the camera. Good times.

Blueberry is also cutting fangs. Just like her sister, her first teeth will be vampire. Oh how the time flies. Also, the bow is merely a tribute to her amazing hair that, even at 6 inches long, will not lay down. Ha!