Thank you to those who wished me Happy Birthday. Yep, I hit the big 4-O. Quite the accomplishment considering my youth. Now if I could just lose some weight!

I haven't been on much but honestly we've been quite busy. Real honest to goodness life has required our attention. Despite all the things that have happened or are going on, they've all turned out for our good.

Wolf's car was totalled. Sounds bad but he was not hurt at all, the insurance paid the loan off and we were able to purchase a truck at a lower monthly payment. The truck is more useful for us considering our farm and Wolf is much happier with it. With the small refund from the car loan, Wolf bought himself a tiller. Now he can't wait to break ground for the garden.

My son's roof started leaking even more so I broke down and called a roofer. They gave an estimate of 1200 dollars. More money out the door but they finished under estimate, did a fabulous job, removed a large squirrel nest in the process and the owner bought some soap.

The pipes in the milk barn burst but this gives us a perfect opportunity to decide what we really want to do with that building. I'm thinking a workshop for Wolf....and no water would be needed so we could just cap them off meaning we no longer have to worry about heating the building in the winter. Big cost savings there.

Thanks to our tax return, my car has been totally brought up to date with tune up, timing belt, transmission flush, coolant flush, new tires and an alignment.

We've just about finished with the new chicken coop. We were blessed finding chicken wire of 150' rolls of 4 foot high wire for $12 each! We pulled all the old fencing from around there down and are just about ready to paint (if it's ever calm enough - too windy right now) and put up the chicken wire.

All in all, we've been blessed every day with our needs being met and a happy household. What more can you ask for?

I miss all my friends from here and maybe we'll have more time as things get done. Of course, as the weather gets better, we have to grab that time to work outside. Such is summer on a farm.

hugs and kisses
grateful
kitt xxx

I was reminded today, by a friend, that I hadn't been on here in quite some time. I guess I just didn't particularly feel like being outside of myself and my little world for a while.

As for our trip to Texas, there were some tough moments but overall it was a good trip and nice to see family despite the circumstances. We stayed an extra day in Texas as our flight from Chicago to Providence had been cancelled due to snow. They offered to send us to Chicago but wouldn't send us on til the next day. My questions were: 1. If it's too bad to fly out, why would I want to fly in? 2. Why would I want to spend the night in Chicago's airport when I could spend it with family here? 3. Can you ensure I can leave the next day? 4. Why would I want to go to Chicago anyway? (sorry to those who live there but....I don't want to)

They ended up booking us for a direct flight from Dallas to Providence via Charlotte the next day. Thank you

The turbulence taking off and landing in Charlotte and Providence were a little hairy but certainly no worse than our flight with Ahmed the pilot into Chicago. Ahmed seemed to think landing on a wing tip was a good idea. And for some reason, Ahmed was ok to be my pilot but I nearly got the strip search leaving Dallas. I suppose reddish blondes born in the USA, wearing jeans and having only a carry on and a peanut patty are prime terrorist suspects. Geez, talk about profiling. Infidels.

Needless to say we were happy to be home despite the bone chilling cold we faced after a couple of 70 degree days. And who realized how much we missed our pillows?

still relishing my own pillows
kitt xxx

Well, looks like we're hitting the road again. I ask for your prayers and thoughts for this one.

Wolf's grand-dad passed away last night so we're making a trip to Dallas tomorrow. It'll be a quick trip, not much time with family but at least we'll get to be there for the funeral and the family night. I have to thank God for my was-band at this time. He was gallant enough to agree to take care of the outdoor critters for us. My neighbor is taking care of the indoor critters. And, of course, my son will stay with his dad so he won't miss any school.

I prayed that God would see fit to enable me to join Wolf. He wanted me to go with him. And, I believe that He made things work out in that manner. My wasband agreed on the animals, the flights were found at a discount and a family member offered help as well. My boss told me not to worry about thing even though bereavement for grandparents-in-laws what not offered. Everything just fell into place.

Until we meet again. And appreciate every day. We never know when we leave.

picking out her black clothes
kitt xxx

Wolf's wondering if Raj's ass slapping was a good thing or not. He figures if it was a locker room, hey, way to go type slap...that's ok. If it was the yeah baby, who's your daddy type of slap...he's covering up quick. In that case, Raj...you'd be slapping the wrong ass.

On another note, my son tells me the plague is going through his class. He woke with a headache today and I went through the day at work half expecting the school to call but it didn't. He made it through and seemed fine when I got in. Perhaps we've dodged a bullet, so to speak.

Next up, I have a new faucet on my kitchen sink. It's marvelous. It's one of those high curving units, two handled and a sprayer. Wolf is so proud of himself. I'm actually proud too, he did a great job but it was an interesting event. It's a good thing we're small because Wolf had to literally crawl into the cupboard. You think it's an easy job but it never turns out that way. The previous faucet installer, whomever that might have been, used teflon tape and putty inside the plastic nuts. It was not a pretty picture.

The bright spot though was when I found the instructions from Peerless on how to uninstall your old fixtures. These folks have a sense of humor for sure. One of the instructions told you to remove the nuts and keep your mouth closed. The next instruction said to spit and grab a drink...see we said that wouldn't taste good. Wise asses. But funny...and you have to look at it that way because if you don't there'll probably be quite a few curse words floating about.

Bottom line...old sink fixtures gone bye-bye, new ones shiny and bright and not leaking.

going to listen to the sound of no dripping...
kitt xxx

Yep, we managed to stay in bed all day Saturday...well, mostly. We did get up later .. much later. It was great, we stayed warm under quilts and comforters and we slept and of course we did get a bit active as well. Gotta keep the blood pumping in this cold.

Actually I got out of bed before Wolf and thought I'd be a peach and cook him breakfast in bed. Needless to say he was a bit surprised, especially since it was past noon. Actually I think he's just not used to that but it was pretty altruistic on my part. He needed more energy.

Well, now we're into another work week and let me tell you, it is COLD!!! Guess we'll just have to work extra hard to get warm at night.

throwing another log on the fire
kitt xxx

Sorry I haven't been around this week but DANG it's freakin' freezing. We had a nice high of 10°F today. And the wind!

But that wasn't what I wanted to say. I had a good week this week. It was long and I'm glad it's over but I feel good today. I got a lot accomplished at work and to beat all, it was noticed. Two of the engineers recognized a couple of things I did. One of them sent my boss an e-mail about the work I did for him, the other talked about what I did for him. Also, one of my co-workers, who is the second in command, sent an e-mail to my boss and the director about something else I worked on.

I get a satisfaction from knowing I did a good job and was thorough but it's sure nice to know that others appreciate it as well. We have a good group of folks over there. I may not make what I used to make at other companies but I'm close to home, I have flexibility when I need it and the people I work with are good people. You can't replace that with any amount of money.

Now, I'm looking forward to a nice quiet weekend with my husband. If we're lucky we'll get to stay in bed under the covers most of the morning

Have a good one folks
and STAY WARM!
kitt xxx

OK, you win...I think it was the chanting....or maybe a few Labatt's.
Wolf and I braved the elements to appease you.

There's only one but you'll have to be satisfied with that because it's freakin' cold.

defrosting
kitt xxx

I'm not sure I'm brave enough to take those NHO pics...it's freakin' cold! Our high today was 22°F. Man, that sucks. Tomorrow they're promising me it'll warm a little but the the wind is going to pick up so that'll drop it down even lower with the wind chill.

Did I mention I hate winter. In the meantime, Wolf is burning everything in sight. All of a sudden he realized it gets cold up here. Oh, excuse me...he didn't just realize that, but now he's complaining...almost sounds like a New Englander. He's still wishing for snow though. /rolls her eyes

looking for warm wooly socks
kitt xxx

Are you guys nuts? You do realize I live in New England and it's mid January don't you? We're talking NHO's (nipple hard ons) of monumental proportions...of course you may not be able to distinguish them amidst the goosebumps.

Now, if we get to wait til spring...and it's warm enough...that might not be a bad idea.

;P

going to put another log on the fire
kitt xxx

When it rains, it now rains in my son's room. Last year Wolf fixed a leak that seemed to emanate from around the woodstove pipe. We didn't have a problem with it til this year when lo and behold, it's been raining for 2 days and now we have a slow tiny leak. But, it's not from the chimney.

He got up there yesterday and took a look and we see a spot where it seems to "cup" a tiny little puddle on one of the shingles. Our dilemna now is how best to fix it. The quick patch didn't work...which we assumed, seeing it wouldn't stop raining long enough for it to dry.

We have no problem replacing the shingles but as you can imagine, the weather is rather unpredictable right now and from what I'm told I need some warm weather for asphalt shingles to be put down properly. I'm kind of bummed out that I have to wait to go up there and rip the old ones off. (look out Bob Vila) Looks like we'll be putting up a tarp for now.

On a good note, the leak is far from a bed or electronic equipment. Oh and did I mention it was rain and not snow...somehow the prospect of dealing with a leak doesn't seem as horrid to me as dealing with a ton of snow.

getting ready for Home Depot
kitt xxx