Sunday, January 11, 2009

WORKDAY



So – after we left Staples on Friday, Mike and I drove on to the homestead. We had called Pete, our neighbor, and he agreed to plow out Dobson Road and our lane so that we could get in to the house. We were able to make it in and so did the Sears repair tech, who thinks he fixed the tv set. We’ll know for sure come May when we start keeping house again.

We laughed when we saw that the outhouse is now upside down. I haven’t used the place since the day I found the rattlers in there. This isn’t the first time it has tipped over, but it is the first time it landed on its roof. Checking our mousetraps, we found only two victims. I suppose there’s still 18 inches of snow there, though standing water at the clothesline indicates the ongoing thaw.

I have learned to start with the important stuff first, so I went to the vintage sewing room before I did anything else. I picked up a few more projects and odds and ends of this and that.

Then I set to work in earnest. As I undecorated the tree, I was so grateful that I streamlined my ornaments and my storage system. You know, I miss having a big “real” tree and putting up all my ornaments, but when it comes to putting them away, I’m glad I can do it quickly. And besides, the collection continues to grow in spite of me. I was reminded of family and friends as I worked.

Then I cleaned out the refrigerator so that we could turn it off. Sounds so easy, doesn’t it? One short sentence. But of course, even though it was basically bare, dressings and sauces, jams and jellies, ketchup and mustard -- it all adds up. We left nothing in the fridge or the freezer and turned it off. I also gathered open products from the pantry so that we can use it up during town time.

Mike hitched the 4-wheeler to the Dakota and we left before 3:00. Arriving back at the Clarkston house, I combined containers of like products so that I could fit the food into the refrigerator and freezer.

It felt like a day of real work.

1 comment:

Hallie said...

That upside-down outhouse is very comical. It reminds me of snoopy's doghouse.